No CCD was found in Maine before, during and after blueberry pollination
by over 60,000 colonies. Lots of Varroa, Tracheal and other problems but
not CCD. There were some CCD like symptoms, but CCD as a cause was
eliminated because of observable factors or the way the colonies were
transported.
The key here is you had reports of CCD in Maine by beekeepers but after
further close, hands-on inspection, the actual cause was determined.
In Maine we have the best bee inspector in the US. I would trust his
observations before any University Professor or even some other State
inspectors. I have gone with him in the field and was more educated
about what to look for in one hour than a year in books and my own
inspections.
If CCD does come back in the fall, can we re-look at the fact that the
viruses associated with Varroa and Tracheal kill colonies in the cool
and cold months of the year and what we are seeing is the viruses and
not some new exotic problem? It all gets back, in my opinion, to mites.
We are chasing a will-o-the-wisp when the real killer of bees is known
to us and right in front of our noses.
There are other instances when you have CCD symptoms and mites are not
involved, but they are discrete, like transportation problems, drought
and the like.
The problem with CCD, and it is confirmed by what we see in Maine, is
that you rely on the beekeeper's input, and from what I have seen with
some beekeepers, that is asking for problems. Time in grade, in the US
Navy, never signified competence, only that the officer lived long
enough and kept out of trouble. Same for beekeepers, but in some cases,
it is they use shop towels soaked with Amitraz and are delaying the
inevitable. It is not their experience, but their reliance on every
known pesticide, legal or not, to quell the problem. I have seen their
colonies in the blueberry fields and consider myself about as competent
as they are, which is a devastating indictment.
Bill Truesdell
Bath, Maine
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