Re: CCD  I agree with Brian about the media spin, but don't blame Bee
Culture or ABJ.  I've been besieged with forwarded articles from friends.

Clearly, the (minimally) adequate supplies of bees for almond pollination
indicates the the US industry has not collapsed (yet).  There are unrelated
collapse problems worldwide--Nosema ceranae, pesticides, muck in Australia,
unusual weather on the East Coast, monster drought in the Midwest, varroa
kills, and poor management.  All caused expected losses.

However, there are compelling reports of losses with common symptoms (CCD)
that can't be blamed on the usual suspects above.  As Jerry Bromenshenk has
said, they appear similar to previous (possibly cyclic) collapses.  I have
not personally seen a CCD yard, but have spoken with those that have.  As
the researchers look at recently (this month) collapsed yards, they are
getting a better idea of what to look for.

Neither I, nor any of my beekeeping buddies have experienced CCD.  But I'm
not about to discount that there may be something happening--Jerry, Dave
Pettis, etc are smart guys, and unlikely to be working so hard on a wild
goose chase.  Just because the media have gone overboard doesn't mean that
we can discount that there may be some recurring, mutated, or new virus or
fungus out there.  Or something else.

The scary part to me, is reports that responsible beekeepers, practicing
good management, are experiencing new losses this spring--past the point
that one would expect poor fall forage to exert an effect.  I support the
investigation, and hope that the researchers can either discount CCD, or
find the cause.

Randy Oliver

******************************************************
* Full guidelines for BEE-L posting are at:          *
* http://www.honeybeeworld.com/bee-l/guidelines.htm  *
******************************************************