Actually, Pete, that shortfall did indeed materialize.  In my career of
pollinating almonds, the price paid by the growers for hive rent has grown
from $8 per hive to as much as the $198 that I made this year for some
strong hives.

Right, but the prediction was not for almonds, it was for the pollination of all US crops. Almonds is a special case, and not a national security issue. 

I was referring to the prediction that the nation's crops would not get pollinated if the numbers fell by 2 million which they did. Similar predictions are being bandied about in Europe. 

Prof Calerdone discusses this in his work on pollination. He attributes the failure of the shortfall to materialize to the presence of alternate pollinators (personal communication), while I submit the pollination needs for US crops has been vastly overestimated. May be a bit of both.

PLB

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