>anyone else experiencing higher than normal queen failure this winter?

Kevin, this is a well-discussed issue for both commercial beekeepers and
the research community.  In my "control" operation with little exposure to
row crops, pesticides, or synthetic miticides, I haven't noticed any
unusual queen loss rate.

One thing that I noticed shortly after varroa arrived, is that the rate of
queen loss jumped.  I have no idea as to whether it was from viruses,
miticide residues, or something else.  This was before the introduction of
neonics.  The queen loss rate in my operation, although low, is still
higher than it was prior to varroa.  So I suspect that viruses have
something to do with it.

However, there is a ton of evidence suggesting that pesticide and miticide
residues can cause queen loss or unsuccessful queen supersedure, so I
suspect that both of these factors are involved with operations exposed to
much agriculture.

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

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