As a 30 year hobby beekeeper who has been having trouble with all my  hives not bringing in enough nectar and pollen for the last 4 years I do not think there is a single primary cause of both my particular problem and the "CCD" problem in the rest of the country. I think there is something definitely new going on and maybe it involves varroa as a transmissive agent - or maybe not. What about diseased old equipment ? What about Nosema Ceranae and its spores. What about pesticides ? We need lots more research. We need a national testing lab that is really reponsive and of high caliber- a lab that will do pesticide testing , and high quality parasite testing, at nominal cost. Sorry if I step on some toes with this opinion, but our free USDA testing lab is a disgrace.
                                                          Ernie Huber

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