>
> >I find in interesting beekeepers from both coasts know what bees do in
> the Midwest better than a beekeeper which lives in the Midwest.


Nice trawl Bob!  Please allow me to happily state that I know nothing about
Midwestern beekeeping, and have never made any pretense of knowing so.  But
as a Western beekeeper who has run bees into corn/alfalfa for 25 years
because they would be healthier than if I left them at home in the dry
foothills during summer, I am very curious about the issues in the Midwest.


I have no reason whatsoever to disbelieve your reports that bees are having
problems.  The only difference between you and me is that you decided
exactly what the problem was some years ago, whereas I have not seen enough
evidence to convince me to agree that neonics are the sole problem.  It
would be very easy to get me onto the anti-neonic bandwagon if I could find
a shred of good evidence.

Surely there must be other Midwestern beekeepers on the List!  I recently
posted that some Midwestern states have excessively high winter mortality
rates of late.  I very much would like to hear from any and all Midwestern
beekeepers as to your experiences, for clues as to what exactly the
cause(s) of those high losses is.  Feel free to write me off list.

I would like to hear from both those who experience good winter survival as
well as those who have had problems.  What crops are you surrounded by?
 What are your main nectar/pollen sources?  If you know of actual
pesticides used near you, please include.  What are the "symptoms" in the
colonies that fail, and what time of year are they failing?

Thanks!
-- 
Randy Oliver
Grass Valley, CA
www.ScientificBeekeeping.com

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