Hello All,
Below is a typical email sent to me. If you are having sililar issues email me but PLEASE no emails with questions which others on bee lists can answer. My time is limited. 
bob
  -Sent: Sunday, March 09, 2008 11:25 AM
  Subject: Re: CCD


  Hi -----,
  I have not heard from you in awhile. I wondered how you and the bees were getting along. Answers below questions. 
  Your problems mirror California.
  Sincerely,
  Bob Harrison

     
    Bob,
    >I am having problems with my bees right now. 

    * as are many others. However the problems fit few patterns. 100 miles from me a commercial beekeeper which sent his bees to California last year lost all his hives. My bees and the bees of Bell Hill look great.  


    >I started feeding "Mega Bee" in Jan and the bees responded well. A couple weeks ago I had bees strong enough to shake for cell builders and queen nucs.

    "Mega Bee" could not be the problem. Also the main thing both researchers and beekeepers are seeing is a rapid decline of colonies which were doing fine a couple weeks before. 

     >Yesterday I worked bees and it is a different story. Some have dwindled to 3-4 frames of bees and others no bees at all. 

    The dwindling hives were shown in the Adee/Pettis segment on CBS on March 7th. . The *no bees at al*l I have been seeing in all locations I have looked at . Also in tiny numbers in my bees and the bees of Bell Hill Honey Farm. In fall we see completely vacant hives and we always thought the reason was the hive went queen less and the bees drifted to other hives.

     However in our cold weather this is impossible and the only logical answer is the bees are flying out into the cold to die. In your warm weather case johnny flying out to die. 

    Never before heard of hypothesis which we have been pondering in our circles:

    The bees have got a problem transferring the honey ( using terms beeks will understand but the problem is complicated in researcher terms)  from the honey stomach to the flight muscles. We know many bees die all the time because they have wondered too far from the hive and without finding nectar do not have enough honey to fuel the flight muscles so they drop in the grass to die on the return trip. Similar to a car running out of gas. Nature has provided the bee with the means to pull the carbs from the blood to gain distance but still once the fuel is gone the bee can not fly. Whatever might be causing the problem might be so acute on a warm day when the bees fly even 20 feet might be far enough the bees can not return. A hive could empty in a hurry if my hypothesis was the problem. I am not a researcher but a keen observer of bee behavior and I find my hypothesis possible but needing research.

    >I brought a one ton load of equipment in yesterday and many of them were full of honey.

    Our hypothesis is the bees quit feeding ( similar to the bats?) In California dead outs are stacked high.

    >Our weather here in East Texas has been crazy (snowed Friday) but yesterday was beautiful. The bees should have been robbing the truck but were not. 

    ------- you have been in the commercial bee business a long time and whatever is keeping the bees from robbing has to be chemical. We believe the odor is only detectable to bees, moths and SHB. Once the chemical dissipates robbing will happen or has been my observation. 


    >They also are not taking syrup as well as they should.

    Sure sign of a problem. Why are you still feeding HFCS? I am only guessing as this email is our first email on the subject but it there seems to be a pattern forming. Those feeding HFCS are the beeks having the most problems. Are you feeding HFCS or sucrose?

    Did you see any signs of dysentery in the deadouts? Did you use fumidil B. last fall? Checked samples for nosema spores?

    >Last year I moved to the tallow and then into cotton.

    Cotton pollination has been a killer of bees since the government boll weevil spraying began. The program has hurt many outfits bad. The USDA-ARS has contacted me twice about if the should pay the claims for dead hives ( with documentation of daytime spraying with bees working the blooms) I said yes both times so they quit calling.


    > There was also acres of corn in the area. Could the pesticide in the cotton/corn be causing problems now?

    Only my hypothesis on corn. If a systemic pesticide has been used then only a problem when the bees can not find a better source for pollen. Periods of drought are the most problematic.

     Cotton to my knowledge is only aerial sprayed and not yet using imid treated seed. If cotton problems happened I believe boll weevil spraying is your problem but seems unlikely this long after the bees were exposed.

    I am busy right now Johnny but will answer back as time permits. Sorry for you problems! I will send your email to BEE-L with your name withheld to see what the list thinks.

    Sincerely,
    Bob Harrison 


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