Hello All,
As I said last fall beekeepers need CCD answers and not documentation. I
received my first call on my offer of helping beekeepers in Missouri try to
turn around CCD.
I got the call this week. I am going to be gone the next two days but maybe
beekeepers on BEE_L might have suggestions for us to try.
The beekeeper has around 20 pallets of hives ( 80 colonies) displaying CCD
symptoms. Missing bees with abandoned larva and brood. Hives going backwards
instead of forwards.
Some robbing has went on of the boxes while in a large holding yard which
does not fit the normal CCD description but only in a *very* small
percent( maybe 6 or 7%). However the hives are dwindling and we expect all
will fail in a few weeks if the problem is not turned around.
The boxes were last years deadouts from hives turned in as CCD on the
survey.
New packages put in first of April.
We have elimnated these problems.
1. varroa
2. tracheal mites.
3. Both foulbroods
Tommorow the beekeeper is shaking four of the hives down on drawn comb which
have not been used for brood rearing in an attempt at turning things around.
We are removing all brood, stored honey/pollen etc. Only the bees and queen
kept.
If the above reverses the effect then all the hives will be done.
My friends from around the world which are aware of the above problem (
phone & email conversation) suspect contaminated pollen in those boxes.
Every beekeeper has suggested the above shake down as possible cure. Why was
it not tried last fall? Why not talked about in CCD updates?
I have read all the published CCD information and have yet to find a
situation where a CCD beekeeper shook bees on new clean comb. Has there been
such a case? If so i would like to speak directly to the beekeeper. Please
email me directly.
question for CCD team:
Was any chemical contamination (such as even low level imadicloprid) found
in the CCD pollen?
I would be interested in the lists comments and will send the CCD team
samples if they like but all the hives died on the CCD teams watch and we
plan to turn these around if possible.
With all due respect the CCD team needs to find out why half the hives in
the Dave Hackenberg study are crashing and the other half with radiated and
acetic acid treated comb are fine. Please email me directly as soon as you
figure out the source of the problem. Thanks in advance!
All my fellow beekeepers are keeping a close look at hives and this is the
first call I have had. Are others in my area seeing hives with the described
CCD symptoms? If you are please email as I want to take a look.
Sincerely,
Bob Harrison



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