REGARDING RE>Lack of Honeybees in Western Washington Roy Nettlebeck writes: "I have been feeling bad seeing so many old time hobby beekeepers going down. I'm 54 and I have never seen a spring with so few bees on flowers all around.My trees can be heard 100 feet away and down the road 6 miles nothing. This may be a big experiment in nature." Roy, I feel the same way. We haven't had fruit bloom yet in southeastern Michigan, but I have noticed the lack of bees in the maples, dandelions and garden flowers. I have bees permanently placed in one orchard, and plan to carefully observe that one and compare it to others without pollinating bees brought in. I have had to talk reluctant friends into trying beekeeping again after losing everything to the mites. Another acquaintance is hesitant to get into the hobby now. It is possible that we may soon see a general agricultural collapse, for we all (farmers, horticulturists, etc.) have been taking honeybees for granted. Truly these are challenging times! Ted Fischer