Hi Guys

It's been awhile since I've posted here. But like Allen, I've also lost all the untreated bees in my little yard. So, rather than working bees, I'm typing away. :-) You can read about my losses here:

http://beenatural.wordpress.com/2011/03/14/yeo/

Basically:

- My bees survived untreated since 2000.
- Put them in a commercial, migratory outfit for 2 seasons.
- Retrieved them without mite or disease problems.
- Hives failed to thrive even with low mite counts.
- I ascribed poor condition to queen problems, poor nutrition.

Final season:

- Split, requeened and fed supplements.
- Bees failed to actively forage, take feed.
- Splits remained small.
- Mite counts remained low.
- Vague brood diseases appear.
- Hives collapse with typical CCD symptoms.

So, my  not treating doesn't guarantee survival. And neither does Allen's treating(routine oxalic treatment). I suspect we are no longer in Kansas. :-) But that's not unusual, as every decade seems to bring another bee devastation of some sort.

There seems to be a very fast CCD, like I observed in the 70's. That's maybe what Allen experienced. And a slow motion kind that I recognized last year.

Randy Oliver, in the ABJ, accurately describes the survival dance between bees and viruses. It's a must read, especially if you have suffered unusual losses like Allen and I have.

So, what does not treating or treating with a soft acid like oxalic guarantee?  It guarantees a beekeeper won't poison his bees with pesticide contaminated comb.

Is that enough? I also wonder what impact those old virus filled combs will have on new bees. An April 2011 ABJ article by Craig Cella, page 344, indicates new comb inserted between virus contaminated combs shows the same spotty brood pattern as the old combs.

Finally, can routine oxalic acid treatment be equated to not treating? That's just not good BS(bee science). :-)

Regards - Dennis

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