>> no one seems willing to step forward and admit something
>> in public that would certainly defuse some unneeded hype,

> Interesting, Now organic beekeepers are in a mass conspiracy.

No, not at all.  A conspiracy would require a level of 
organization hitherto unseen in connection with any
aspect of beekeeping.  They're just shy.  Or embarrassed.

> Feral swarm calls are only down only about 10 percent, 
> 20 percent at the very tops. 

Now this is a very interesting statement from someone who
is running a "Feral Bee Project", as it should be obvious
that "swarm calls" would not, by definition, imply that
the swarm was in any way "feral", or from any colony 
that might be called "feral".

>> Sharon Labchuk...

> I don't understand why you assume the habit of attempting 
> to discredit persons instead of targeting what you disagree 
> with in their writings.  

Joe, I am surprised!  Why would mentioning that someone was
a member of the Green Party, a perennial candidate for
election to local offices, and involved in the unfortunate
PEI "Imidaclopid" situation be "discrediting" them?

The point here was clear - that the "backstory" explains why 
Ms. Labchuck was predisposed to jump to the unwarranted 
conclusions to which she jumped.  If you want to call that 
"discrediting", go ahead, but don't blame me for simply 
stating well-known and objective facts.

My only reason for bothering to note Ms. Labchuk's recent
history was to make the EXACT point I made:

>> So, perhaps you can see that Sharon might have been
>> just a teensy bit inclined to blame "pesticides"

Accusing someone of some other agenda or intent is silly
when the actual reasoning is made clear. 

> The CCD group has NOT eliminated pesticides from the list 
> of suspects 

Of course not.  It will take the classical "smoking gun"
to cross ANY of the suspects off the list.  But if you
listen, read, and ask questions, you encounter the term
"pathogen" more and more.  I think that says volumes.


In regard to swarms, I've got two projects that I would
be happy to invite others to participate in, both are
colonies established in brick structures, both are 
several stories above the ground, and both appear to be
fairly large colonies, given the number of sorties per
minute.  One is at Columbia U, and one is at PS-158
in Queens, NY.  

All participants would be signed on as 1099 contractors
under a fully licensed and insured pest control company,
and everyone would be covered by Workman's Comp and
so on.  We may be working from the "inside", or on
scaffolds.  Those with a fear of heights should sit
this one out.

I think that these "New York city bees" may provide 
the exact genetics you are looking for.  Tough enough 
to survive and thrive in the midst of 8 million people
(half who claim to be terribly allergic to bee stings),
smart enough to set up shop in brick and concrete
structures rated as "fall-out shelters" back when we 
were afraid of the Ruskies, and resourceful enough
to find sources of nectar, pollen, and water in the
midst of the "concrete jungle".

These bees won't just sting you, they'll take your
watch and wallet, too!  :)

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