>  There is an article 'Solving the Mystery of the Vanishing Bees' by 
> Diana Cox-Foster and Dennis vanEngelsdrop in the April issue of 
> Scientific American.  [Sorry no link - I get delivered to the hous.].
>
>They found 170 chems in CCD bee samples.  [And some symptoms like 
>scarred internal bee organs not seen before!] Imidacloprid by itself 
>may not be a direct killer at the above ppb but, in combination with 
>other chems, and poor nutrition may lead to bees' demise.

I'm not defending Bayer, neonics, or anything else....

Is CCD really all about Waldig's "ppb" and the 170 chemicals in the 
comb, or Bob's "PPB" and management issues?

I guess this is public info now, as I've heard the same report from 
several well known inspectors and scientists. I'll leave out the names for now.

When Hackenburg's bees were inspected in May 2006, in Maine, alcohol 
wash showed a 90% infestation of Varroa mite. 90%! And that's in May. 
What's the treatment threshold in August? 3-10? In August? His bees 
crashed in November. Really?

And how are Hackenburg's bees now? Healthy since he started using 
Amitraz. The strips are there, and the crystals are on the strips.

I think Bob H has it right. It's PPB! Not neonics, not IAPV, not N. 
ceranae. It's Varroa out of control. Varroa compromising the bees' 
immune system so the pathogens can do their dirty deeds.

Just my opinion.
Mike 

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