>> >The good news is that there are some colonies that laugh at whatever the
>> >heck is causing CCD. And where might one find some of these bees?

>In most instances of colony collapse, there are some survivors. 

I guess this is the thing that surprised me most about my experience.  Hence the 
subject line.  ALL.

I had about 75 colonies in September and most were strong with young queens and a 
number of good strains of bees in the yard.  Within weeks, I saw them all decline
drastically, and now they are ALL dead. 

ALL 75.

In Sept, many hives were very strong and they all were putting on weight. Then that all 
stopped and I saw some PMS and found high varroa counts, but not extreme, and no 
nosema in the few casual samples I took.  

First, one hive showed some PMS, became mean, then crated within two weeks.

Then, within a few weeks, many more were weak and some were down to a handful of 
bees.  Others went off their feed.  

By the end of fall many had dwindled to nothing.  I did not bother at that point to disturb
them for fear of damage, and figured I'd have a few at least left in spring.  

By Feb, that looked  much less likely and I confirmed a total wipepout recently.

ALL are dead.  Most unusual IMO.

I intend to continue this thread, but am short of time.  There are questions asked 
and a number of misunderstandings to clear up.  Moreover, I am behind on my personal
correspondence and also have some hibve cleanup ahead of me.  

We'll see what is possible.

             ***********************************************
The BEE-L mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software.  For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html

Guidelines for posting to BEE-L can be found at:
http://honeybeeworld.com/bee-l/guidelines.htm