Let me say this, general; if you looked at the mere physical structure of a floppy disk with a computer program on it, would that not also a be a one-off process? The magnetism, for example, is not intelligent in the sense that it is making choices about anything, yet the program has obviously been caused by an intelligent agent.
The same is true with your thermostat. The physical processes involved do not themselves have intelligence, but are simply used by an intelligent agent to perform a function.
Regarding the bees, we really do not know exactly how they do the absolutely amazing things that they do. I thing we probably assume that they are hard-wired or programmed in some way. But one of the results of their activity is Architecture, and of a very, very efficient type at that. On of the reasons that I labeled beeswax as indicative of design is that architecture is the product of an intelligent agent; it cannot be reduced to the random forces of physics and chemistry. The properties and functions of the beehive certainly seem to bear the hallmarks of design of the dictionary defintion, and would certainly qualify as specifications if done by human beings; namely,
The bees may be the the floppy disk or the thermostat of the process in the sense that they may not be conscious of the plan that they are executing, but the beeswax itself as an artifact bears the hallmarks of design.
Patrick, the reason I asked about your nature/intelligence distinction is that certain parts of nature exhibit certain levels of intelligence. One of the hallmarks of intelligence is discrimination. For example, a rat traversing and learning a maze is demonstrating intelligence in that it is choosing and discriminating between this and that; between one route and another, between one possiblity, ruling out others, to reach it's goal of whatever freedom or food morsel it wants.
Cordially,
I'm sure that whole libraries of books have been written on the topic of intelligence, and I haven't read any of them. Thus, I'm definitely winging it here. But the "intelligence" demonstrated by a rat in a maze is very low-order stuff. More like stimulus & response, rather than anything a human would consider intelligent behavior. Such actions can indeed build termite mounds and all the rest, but to me it's all part of nature, and falls way short of anything we should regard as intelligent design.