>Did you look for any INDIVIDUAL bee symptoms?
Especially if "common" to many bees
Or are they asymptomic?

The bees start going backwards at a time the other yards are moving forward.
All bee issues under control such as nosema, mites etc.

The most noticeable thing you see is bringing in and storing corn pollen. A
beekeeper which worked the booth this week at the Missouri State fair said
the beekeepers were discussing the amount of pollen being stored in hives
and hives starting to go backwards We have had plenty of rainfall followed
by days of prefect foraging weather. The bees have not been up trying to rob
for weeks.

The last time we had this situation in Missouri was in the fall of 2006. In
the spring of 2007 Missouri beekeepers had huge losses coming out of winter.
I am not saying will happen again but I am pulling supers in all areas of
corn and feeding pollen patties.

In the areas of fall flowers ( not row crops) I am leaving supers on to
catch wild flower honey. A huge demand exists for bakers grade honey ( dark)
and pricing is close to the white price.

I have some yards with very low mite loads so willing to gamble on not
treating this fall or treating late to help the bottom line! Looks like a
big fall honey crop year. These are yards with 2-3 year old queens and set
to *trash* next spring ( a term I learned form Randy Oliver).
The hives with 2009 queens I would not gamble with. (unless of course the
honey price for dark honey went higher)

Not really a greed thing but rather taking advantage of an opportunity which
could evaporate when Argentine honey drought ends and those smuggling China
honey figure a new way to smuggle in through another country!

bob

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