>Yep, and it's right there. How, and *IF*

U.S. beekeeping & pesticides:

Those on the front lines of beekeeping doing the nations pollination have no
doubt pesticides (and fungicides & combinations of both) are poisoning bees.
The problem has always been getting the problem in front of those able to
force changes in labels and provide strict enforcement of labels.

Label violations in Missouri happen daily when pesticides are being applied.
Ariel applicators are some of the worst offenders. many sprays applied to
soy beans while bees are in the field. Corn is from neonicotinoid treated
seed. The neonicotinoids are widely used on watermelons and pumpkins in
Missouri.

One interesting point is that areas of row crops in the Midwest have
produced the lowest honey production the last two years. Most beekeepers
point at the weather. certainly part of the problem but the Stanley brothers
claimed to have produced around 300 pound averages in Iowa for years.( BC
letters to the editor this spring)  Last year the average was in the 20
pound range. Same this year.

I still can produce a crop in the range land but weird things happen to bees
in areas of corn & soybeans.
The bee numbers drop drastically and fast. Interestingly pallets of the same
splits moved into range country flourish.

USDA help?

Actually government help is a joke. A friend lost over 200 hives and
reported as CCD last spring. The USDA sent a kid in a new car out. He jumped
out and looked at a couple frames the beekeeper showed him and said he had a
meeting to go to and left. The beekeeper kept calling and the USDA said they
would send an entomologist out to take samples. Never happened and no calls.
The beekeeper called the USDA every week. Finally the USDA said they could
not find an entomologist in Missouri to come out.

We have the smoke screens and mirrors of CCD and then the real world of lack
of interest by the USDA.
I figured the money to solve the die off would disappear instead of
researchers being sent to the front lines of the problem.

a friend joined the ABF honey crop program and filled for his 2010 losses.
he was told the program was two years behind on claims. Wow!

My 2 cents worth.

bob

             ***********************************************
The BEE-L mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software.  For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html

Guidelines for posting to BEE-L can be found at:
http://honeybeeworld.com/bee-l/guidelines.htm