David Fulton asked: We have noticed people talking about a "bug" of some kind that attacked a large portion of the bee population during 1996 either in the U.S. or Europe. Can anyone out there confirm this rumor?? Does anyone have any more facts along these lines? They might be referring to the spread of tracheal and varroa mites. For the latter, consult the following article: 1996 Wenner, A.M. and W.W. Bushing. Varroa mite spread in the United States. BEE CULTURE. 124:341-343. Adrian Adrian M. Wenner (805) 893-2838 (UCSB office) Ecol., Evol., & Marine Biology (805) 893-8062 (UCSB FAX) Univ. of Calif., Santa Barbara (805) 963-8508 (home office & FAX) Santa Barbara, CA 93106 *********************************************************************** * "THIS LIFE may be the only chance you'll ever get to show what * * you can do." Pot-Shots #6923 * * Copyright, Ashleigh Brilliant --- used with permission * ***********************************************************************