>If enough nurse bees are left, can such hives eventually recover or is the
>queen 'damaged' and/or is there too much contaminated pollen for a
>recovery?

Depends. In some cases many will if fed a *good* pollen sub or moved onto an
excellent forage like Texas Tallow. In other the bees are not worth saving. 
However to the beekeeper doing pollination the loss can put you out of the 
pollination business.


 >Seems the contaminated bees perished in the field.

The problem with the above and at first pointed out by researchers is the
well documented fact of what we call suicide bees.

These are sick bees which
in order for the hive to survive fly out to die. However those of us which
have been keeping bees for a few years (fifty in my case) have NEVER seen
the suicide factor to be so strong that all but a handful of bees fly to
die! NEVER!

In private we laugh at those which propose "flying to die" is what is
happening!

Our hypothesis is that the bees get into the neonicotinoids and
like the plastered drunk or stoned hippie head in the opposite direction
when leaving the party. Drive the wrong way down the "405" in California.

bob

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