Regarding the use of taxpayers funds to restock hives, sorry for the brief and somewhat glib response. Actually, I have followed this issue closely from the very start, and know or have met many of the key players, including Dennis Van Engelsdorp, David Hackenburg, Jerry Hayes, Maryann Frazier, and all. 

When the story broke in 2006, I was a NYS bee inspector on winter furlough. I got a call from a beleaguered beekeeper whose 30 some hives had evaporated. He wanted me to look at them. I was on lay off, but out of the desire to help, I drove down to his place and checked them out. His chief concern was not wanting to put fresh bees in the hives, if there was something contagious in them. 

Soon after, recommendations were being issued everywhere, and Jamie Ellis suggested in one of his pubs that the miticides could be a player. I promptly wrote to him, and asked him not to be too hasty with such a statement, as the public was very concerned and "on our side", but that support would quickly evaporate if they thought that the beekeepers had done this to themselves with chemicals. 

Several years have passed and there is no conclusive proof as to what has been generally causing colony collapse, but the mood of the public has really shifted and many now regard beekeepers as exploiters just like chicken ranchers or veal producers. The Bee Movie didn't help much though; the Secret Life of Bees may have helped a jot, I don't know how many saw it. 

So, now we should go to the public and ask for "loan" money to put more bees back in these same hives, not knowing whether they are contaminated with lethal viruses or lethal chemicals? Knowing that if the bees die again, they will likely go bankrupt and default on the loans? Imagine the US government as proud owner of millions of empty bee boxes of zero value. 

No, if money is to be spent, it should go the efforts of people like the folks at UC Davis, Penn State, and of course, Jerry Bromenshenk. Unless hive contamination is ruled out and/or a treatment is discovered, what good will it do to restock? They'll just die again. Of course, maybe with hives renting for $200 in almonds, you can turn a profit even if the bees die. Sooner or later, somebody will figure out that they can borrow money to buy Australian bees, pollinate the almonds, move the bees out to Nevada to die, and take the earnings to Las Vegas where the odds are better.


Peter Loring Borst
Ithaca  NY USA

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