> The problem with the above and at first pointed out by researchers is the well documented fact of what we call suicide bees. These are sick bees which in order for the hive to survive fly out to die. However those of us which have been keeping bees for a few years (fifty in my case) have NEVER seen the suicide factor to be so strong that all but a handful of bees fly to die! NEVER! In private we laugh at those which propose "flying to die" is what is happening!

There is no documentation that bees commit suicide. There is the
suicide hypothesis which proposes that bees COULD be flying off to
save the colony. And if too many fly off, the result is colony death
after all. But there is simply no way to PROVE that bees flew off
"deliberately" as in suicide, or were simply too sick to return.
Bailey and Ball showed that heavy infestation by sacbrood causes
disorientation and mass die off of adult bees, possibly by
accumulation of virus in the brain.

Pesticide poisoning causes disorientation as well, but there is simply
no proof of either the suicide hypothesis or the neonic hypothesis.
They are both equally credible explanations of what we are seeing, but
one certainly cannot discount the other. In fact, both could be
happening. It may be that bees sick, poisoned or parasitized in any
way will tend to fly off to rid the colony of themselves, ultimately
to protect the queen and the rest of the hive. However, suicide
implies intention.

And by the way, we all have our private chuckles but when bees are
dying and businesses are failing, it makes no sense to ridicule any
ideas that might lead to a solution, no matter how far fetched. For
example, I personally don't think that neonics are behind massive
die-offs but anybody with any sense realizes they COULD be. Or a
virus. Or nosema. I suggest keep weighing the evidence and don't make
your mind up yet, as the picture is bound to change, again.

-- 
Peter L Borst

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