On Mon, 17 Aug 2009 12:04:25 -0400, Allen Dick <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

>The article is IMO pure wind, but, unfortunately, newbees Hoover this 
>fanciful stuff up and then wonder how come their bees are so sad 
>looking and/or dead, when they could have followed easy mainstream 
>advice, supplemented their bees`feed when indicated and prosper. 

Such teaching is based upon the faulty assumption that natural is always better. Natural 
pollen may in fact be deficient in essential nutrients and/or contaminated by agricultural 
chemicals. To wit:

We have found levels
of fungicides in incoming pollen that exceed
20,000 parts per billion (PPB). Some sampies
of incoming pollen contained 3-4 different
types of fungicides. 

Fungicides are found so commonly in
pollen because they often are sprayed while
the crop being pollinated by bees is in
bloom. 

In addition to fungicides, antibiotics such
as streptomycin are registered for use on
apple and pear for fireblight and are sprayed
*during bloom*.

GLORIA DeGRANDI-HOFFMAN, DIANA SAMMATARO and RUBEN ALARCON
Carl Hayden Bee Research Center
ABJ July 2009

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