Hello All,


>if you listen closely to the Maryann Frazier video, if I recall, she said 
>the levels of self
contamination have approached the LD 50 levels.  also we often hear about 
synergistic potential of
miticides and other external contaminants.

And if you look at the number of samples tested versus the 2 and a half 
million hives in the U.S. (most with a couple boxes of 9-10 frames each) 
what very very small segment of the total are we looking at . Not even a 
statistic worth discussing.

Maybe the researchers will find the "needle in the hay stack" but saying 
they have found the needle does not ring a bell with many.

Those which pour over dated releases (and draw their own conclusions) only 
muddy the water further.

The bee hive works as a unit. You take a bee and place by itself in a jar 
with everything the bee needs to survive and the bee dies ( personal 
experiments).

The commercial beekeeper understands the unit. The living bee hive unit 
(which commercial beeks work with daily) is the place to find answers to 
problems. Not the dead hives which tell little.

Turning around a hive with problems is the answer commercial beeks seek not 
documenting what killed the hive.
Many of us believe researchers for the most part do not understand what the 
beekeeping industry needs!

A handful of us are working very hard to take hives dwindling and turn those 
hives around and doing so with success many times.

Researchers are coming for the most part and saying.

Bees gone must be CCD.  If their  area is virus then they say the problem is 
virus related. If your their  is pesticides then the problem is pesticides. 
Then they all chime in and say send money and we will solve the problem in 
our air-conditioned labs.

I spent over 12 hours the last two days each day in the bee yards. My eyes 
are burning from the sweat ( I wear a sweat band).
I understand with the internet you can read all the published works on the 
subject but the material is dated and comes from limited actual contact with 
the problem. The recent article in the Elks magazine on CCD speaks of 
migratory beekeeping but shows around 7-8 hives on cement blocks.

Although today I run a small operation (with hired help) I advise many of 
the the big guys. The few large beekeepers left live in a fast pace world.

example:

A friend with over 10,000 migratory hives can load over 500 hives in forty 
five minutes. Using two loaders he can cut the time in half.

Multiply the CCD team by 100 and place in commercial operations with lab 
backup and I think the bee industry will get better in a hurry. The present 
method is in my opinion doomed to failure.

Bill Wilson spent years trying to solve disappearing disease without 
success. The ABC-XYZ book devotes a half  page to the subject..

Rothenbuler came to Bill's rescue and looked into the issue and concluded 
that disappearing disease was caused by honey bee genetics. Rothenbuler bee 
knowledge is legendary but none of the current team talks of genetics being 
an issue.

Many say stop the Australian bees coming in but the guys with the best bees 
I have looked at are now running Australian bees and raising queens from the 
stock.

The beeks running the Russians are not seeing the problems the rest of the 
industry is.

Genetics?

Did Rothenbuler figure out disappearing disease but his revelation fell on 
deaf ears? Has the import of Australian & Russian genetics confirmed what 
many have said for years we have got a genetic problem in U.S. bees?

Many in Texas might argue even the AHB genetics has helped their stock.

Quote from pg. 203 of the new ABC XYZ :

"The name "disappearing disease" has been used to describe  one such 
condition. In all of the cases bees died or disappeared in great numbers, 
and beekeepers sought to understand why this took place. it is important to 
recognize there are good beekeepers, careless beekeepers, nutritional 
deficiencies, toxic pollens and nectars, poor locations, genetic 
abnormalities, combinations of diseases and a host of things that can go 
wrong in honey bee colonies"

I don't know for sure the person which wrote the above for the book but I 
suspect Dr. Shiminuki.

Everyday the public asks:
"have they found the cause of the bees dying yet" ( meaning a single cause 
to explain the die-off)

They still ask about the cell phones.

Off to bed now as another busy day tomorrow. Yes I would like to sit home 
and barbecue or maybe go fishing but the bees need tending  and the rains 
have stopped for hopefully a few days.

bob 

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