> "In other words , if the disappearance can be linked to specific causes , then it isn't CCD"

> If Dave's bees do not fit the above CCD description then do others?


The key point here is that yes, there were high varroa levels but not significantly higher than what you'd expect to see. And the symptoms were different from what you would expect to see with varroa levels that high. 

There is a normal progression with varroa that is seen everywhere that varroa are. Hackenburg knows this, and what he was seeing was something different. I have watched colonies collapse due to varroa a million times, and this is not that. 

The point that all the researchers are making is this: the occurrence of CCD brought honey bees under the microscope and even if CCD went away or the cause and cure of it were found, the problem of bee decline has not been solved. Bees are declining in many locations throughout the world. Sometimes the cause and treatment is obvious, sometimes not. 

I think folks are making a big mistake belittling the work that is being done. Before, everyone was lamenting the lack of money being spent on bee research and now they are belly aching because we still haven't found out what they want to know.

Compare this problem to the problem of cancer. At one time, there was just cancer. Now we refer to "a class of diseases in which a group of cells display uncontrolled growth. As of 2004, worldwide cancer caused 13% of all deaths. The oldest known description and surgical treatment of cancer was discovered in Egypt and dates back to approximately 1600 B.C."

So, more than 3000 years later, we still are struggling with this problem. Is it for the lack of money or the lack of determination? Will you say the researchers don't want to find a cure, because their grants will dry up? Get a grip!

PLB

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