>In fact they have risen astronomically for bees in almonds. However, this
is due to vastly increased acreages of almonds planted in California.

Actually, not quite right.  The increase acreage came on steadily and
slowly, with pollination fees rising for many years at about $2 per year.
The sudden spike was due to lack of live hives, not to a sudden increase in
bearing acreage.  The spike happened when colonies began to crash in the
fall of 2004.

> It is probably exacerbated by the long term drought in California which
makes it difficult to maintain large numbers of colonies in state.

True.

> Meanwhile, pollination fees for other crops have not risen

After almonds, there is a glut of bees looking for places to put them.  The
low pollination prices for other crops are subsidized by the almond
growers.  Without the demand for almonds, no telling what pollination
prices would be for other crops.

There will likely be a shortage of native pollinators in any large
monoculture, simply due to lack of suitable habitat and forage.

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

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