Sometimes it pays to be different

[AmericasBeekeeper]

The Trail Less Traveled: Individual Decision-Making and Its Effect on Group Behavior
Strong symmetry breaking may be a mechanism . . . to competitively exclude other species from resources, . . . However, for species that are lower in the dominance hierarchy and that rely on rapid discovery of new food sources, symmetry breaking may be maladaptive, since the tendency to create one strong trail would prevent workers of these species from exploring new areas. Honey bees are able to avoid this problem by using a linear response to recruitment signals, thus sustaining low-level recruitment to sites that are currently less profitable [13].
http://www.plosone.org/article/info%...l.pone.0047976

[cerezha]

Why copy somebody words? Create something by yourself. Yes, bees response is linear. Some other organisms have logarithmic or exponential responses, what is the problem? Moreover, for some period, response may be linear, than change into exponential and finally rich the plateau.