Hello Peter ( my long time friend) & All,
We have heated debates on BEE-L which may look to others that  the members 
of the discussion do not like each other. The opposite is true! BEE-L would 
be pretty boring if we all had the same opinion.

> Jeff Pettis responds:
> "Well, if that's true then we'll be able to find certain levels of
> different pesticides in those hives

They certainly have found pesticides in the CCD samples. 14 were systemic.

"and we don't have that complete
> picture yet."

Those on the list which watched the video did you notice a red face on Mr. 
Pettis when pressed on the pesticide issue! I certainly did!

To get a clear picture you need to start some sub lethal testing . I think 
Beltsville knows the results would be used in our fight with Bayer which in 
my opinion is in the future. bayer knows this and the reson why I was only 
able to talk to company reps when the reps did not know I was a beekeeper. I 
think most on the list watch the investigations their local TV stations do 
and the doors slammed in their faces. Same happened to me.


" We just don't have consistency that points us in that
> direction.""

To be as nice as possible no research is being conducted by the USDA-ARS 
that I know of to test sub lethal effects of the neonicotinoids. Why not?

Did Hackenberg benefit from his 400 hive experiment watched over by 
Beltsville?

Will Beltsville provide beekeepers with the results of their Hackenberg 
testing? Still waiting.

 Did Beltsville provide the guidance to prevent a repeat collapse? ( I think 
you know the answer).

While in Florida I was amazed at the private beekeeping bee research being 
done. Different testing of queens from all the major producers. testing of 
all the pollen supplements ( beekeepers results differ from the published 
research) , testing of mite treatments, nosema treatments and many Randy 
Oliver type experiments. I was invited to come down and spend another month 
helping run the tests! No pay but would be fun and interesting.

Sadly my attempts at full retirement since 1998 when i officially retired 
have been a dismal  failure. At night I work in the lab trying to invent a 
patch ( similar to the nicotine patch for those trying to quit smoking) to 
help those poor souls addicted to beekeeping. My close friend Horace Bell 
made it *bee free* for a couple years and then "fell off the bee free wagon" 
and is now back keeping bees with employees!

At least I now have started taking three months off each winter.

Sincerely,
Bob Harrison 


-- 
This message has been scanned for viruses and
dangerous content by MailScanner, and is
believed to be clean.

****************************************************
* General Information About BEE-L is available at: *
* http://www.honeybeeworld.com/bee-l/default.htm   *
****************************************************