Bob an All:
 
" My point was that many are finding empty hives (Jim & Dave) at a time when > bees do not normally swarm. If they absconded the hive would be empty.( not > always of course!)"
 
 
I don't think this has anything to do with CCD, and everything to do with nosema ceranae.I have observed over the past 2 years, high numbers of swarms in Sept, a time when normally a hive does not swarm.  
 
Now whether these are actually swarms or they are absconding, I am not sure.  The hives that "swarmed" usually have a fair number of bees left, and they do raise a queen, sometimes the queens mate successfully, most times not.  Either way, the hives do not make it through our winter.  Most of the reason I feel the hives don't make it is simiply lack of enough brood cycles to build up the hive before winter hits.
 
Now if this happened in a warmer climate, where the remaining bees can drift to other hives, maybe that is what CCD is.....or not..
 
One of the things I do know is that VM counts are usually low, as in two or three per hive.  
 
 
I have to believe this is due to nosema ceranae.  The big question is how many beekeeps are treating for nosema ceranae, and are the treatments only masking the inevitable?
 
Jim   
 
http://www.northernqueens.com/
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