I recived 4 packages of bees this week which I installed to replace
swarms lost over the winter.The weather has been warm here in central Va.
for several weeks,and usually during this time,scouts from feral colonies
will be out investigating my hives.This year, since they were empty, I
expected many vistors.Eerily, not one bee have I observed.More ominously,
there is a telling absence of bees on dandelions & fruit blossoms in my area.
I had'nt noticed how empty it seemed until I installed my new
bees.Suddenly, it seemed more normal.Today, I took a walk in the woods to
scout out any feral swarms working in the warm air.For the first time in
my 25 years of bee-keeping, I found NOT 1 feral colony. It appears that
mites have decimated colonies for several miles around me.To my
knowledge, I am the only bee-keeper for at least 5 miles.The absence of
wild colonies, while alarming,gives me some hope that my new swarms may
not be as readily infected this year since bee to bee contact will be
limited.What truely frightens me is the extinction of the wild bees.While
this opens foraging for my swarms,it means a heavy decline in pollination
for miles around.This underscores the seriousness of the mite problems
now facing the American honey bee.It would seem the survial of the
species is now seriously in jepordy.
                         MLHigh
 
"I take my chances,I don't mind working without a net,                           I take my chances,I take my chances every chance I get"                                   Mary Chapin Carpenter