I am a hobby beekeeper in New York's mid-Hudson Valley. Going into the winter I had 2 hives that appeared to be in good shape. They did not, however, make it through the winter. This is what I found when I opened the 2 dead hives: . There were no live bees and few dead bees. . The dead bees that were left, aside from a few scattered dead bees, consisted of several small groups of bees arranged in a donut shape around a donut hole of uncapped empty comb of 1" to 2" in diameter, the donut ring itself being some 3 to 4 bees from inside to outside and a few bees high. . There were substantial stores of capped as well as uncapped honey. . In addition, there were patches of uncapped comb with cells about half-full of a white substance I cannot identify. A glutton for punishment, I ordered two packages from Weaver which I installed just a few days ago and which, knock on wood, seem to be doing well so far. I used other hive bodies and frames, some built-out to a greater or lesser degree, that I had in storage. I was afraid to use the bodies and comb from the dead hives even though they had substantial honey stores for fear they might be toxic or infected. I am in a rural area but the nearest farm to the best of my knowledge is a dairy farm some 6 or 7 miles away and I am not aware (which doesn't mean it couldn't be) of any insecticide use of significance in the area (don't use them in my own garden, don't know about others'). Does anyone have an idea what this might be, or is it just another mysterious CCD? Does anyone have any thoughts on whether my fears are justified? I apologize if these particular symptoms have been vetted before, I have been off the list for some time (computer crash, etc.). Jeffrey S. Tallackson Attorney at Law 1060 New Forge Road II Ancram, NY 12502 (518) 851-7212 (518) 567-9507 Cell [log in to unmask] This message is sent by a lawyer and may contain information that is privileged and confidential. If you received this message in error, regardless of whether you are a named recipient, please notify the sender by reply email and delete the message and any attachments. IRS Circular 230 Disclosure: As required by Federal Regulations, we inform you that any tax advice contained herein was not written or intended to be used (and cannot be used) for the purpose of avoiding federal tax penalties, or for the purpose of promoting, marketing or recommending any transaction or matter to another party. *********************************************** The BEE-L mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned LISTSERV(R) list management software. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html Guidelines for posting to BEE-L can be found at: http://honeybeeworld.com/bee-l/guidelines.htm