This site was talked about last spring, but it will be another data point this spring. http://beeinformed.org/2012/05/winter2012/ It surveyed beekeepers in order to let us know best management practices to overwinter bees. Last year 21% were lost. If the neonics are causing 50% losses (the CCD like symptoms for some) then it appears that they are not an over-all problem for most. And that is saying that they were the problem, not virus and nosema which were implicated with CCD. Add one other- "we know that" Amitraz was in short supply in the US last year which meant that beekeepers who relied on its illegal use could not get it. My understanding was that it was done by the manufacturer because they knew about its illegal use and wanted to put a stop to it. That came back to me this am, as it was another fact that I heard about last year along with the comment that there would be many crashes this winter. It is the best current mite treatment. The unfortunate truth about the illegal use of Amitraz is that it is the worst kept secret in US beekeeping but no one will pin the tail on any donkeys or come forward and say that their bees crashed because they had to go to other treatments. Personally, I will not condemn any beekeeper who used it properly, even if it was illegal and I doubt if any others will, so we will miss a potentially major piece of evidence- but then Poirot occasionally allowed the guilty to go free. Loss of colonies is punishment enough. Bill Truesdell Bath, Maine *********************************************** 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