Paul said:
> If they wanted, Bayer or a canola or sunflower grower could
> pass out 100 videocameras to 100 farm kids in North Dakota
> and ask them to ride down the farm roads on their bicycles and
> videotape all the many honeybees, bumblebees, hoverflies,
> solitary bees and butterflies they will see both on the canola
> and sunflowers and on the wildflowers growing along the
> field margins.

The largest beekeeper in the world Mr. Adee (Adee honey Farms north Dakota)
claims to have lost around 40,000 hives to CCD. in a single season. claims
losses continue.
(Vanishing of the bees documentary )

*If* ( big if) the neonics are at the root of the problem perhaps Mr. Adee
should send the bill for loss to Bayer?

I like a joke as well as the next person (100 video camera to document N.
Dakota healthgy bees as Paul suggests) but serious losses keep happening in
the beekeeping world and *hopefully* the chemicals are not at the root of
the
problem.

Beekeepers do not like seeing current losses as does Bayer, Dow or Monsanto.

Really is a PR issue. Beekeepers have always struggled with pesticide losses
but never before has the public taken such a big interest!

Having the discussion on a list of beekeepers and researchers which
understand beekeeping those people understand when commercial beekeepers say
they are keeping up with demand for hives through a change in management to
constant splitting of hives.

Those beekeepers not wanting to adapt have in many cases left the bee
business. The documentary "vanishing of the bees" documents a five
generation beekeeper quitting beekeeping with many buildings full of dead
hives. The last photo shows a huge bon fire of bee equipment.

Not many new faces in commercial beekeeping.

new people are not busting the doors down to get into commercial beekeeping.
Outfits are hard to sell since 2006.

Historically when honey prices and pollination prices have risen ( like
today) every Tom, Dick & Harry wanted to get into commercial beekeeping. Not
happening since 2006.

bob

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