>
> The Adee's weren't doing anything all that different this year than last.
> So the question is, why did things go differently?

Being close to the Adee family through a member and the Brown's I have to 
say the Adee's have had problems ever since they increased hive numbers from 
the 40,000 range which they ran for decades and included California in their 
game plan.

The Adee's have had problems for sure the last three years. My sources 
report bigger problems the first year of CCD than admitted. Although Richard 
did not give numbers when he testified at the senate hearing like the others 
did.

Two problems the Adee's had during the time period (as told to me by family 
members and employees) were trying to go to a Russian hybrid (which to my 
knowledge they have dropped) and trying to use formic acid (which did not 
provide the long term control their method of beekeeping required) .

Formic acid (as per my own testing) provides around 4 months of varroa 
control when used in a commercial setting. Exactly what the maker David V. 
has said at meetings. In my testing you can go to 5 months but many hives 
are close to threshold. I must make clear that we are not talking hobby 
hives but hives which are on almonds, then another strong flow such as 
apples, then say cranberries and then moved into a strong clover flow. Bees 
which are being fed when not on a flow. Raising brood constantly. In other 
words varroa is out breeding the formic acid varroa control. In areas like 
Texas formic might need used 3 times a year.  David V. told me (personal 
conversation ABF Austin, Texas) that some beekeepers do use his pads three 
times a year. Which is why I went home and tested.

The Adee operation is never very open about its methods but I do know that 
some changes have been made each year for the last several years.

Weak and dwindling hives were the norm rather than dead hives it seems. I 
can not say if the early problems were from a CCD related cause. I can say 
that back when I did my article on California almond pollination that  I 
spoke with a broker which was having a hard time getting two semi's of Brent 
Adee bees to grade . Of course means very little as the hives I was involved 
with were only around a thousand which is a very small percent of the 
operation.

bob 

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