Hello Jim & All,
I read the two upcoming articles. Both interesting reading.

The following is from beekeeping history and many reading might find
interesting.

Despite all the things found so far about CCD if you were to go and ask
"Grand Pa" beekeeper of the third generation beekeeping family about what we
are seeing today I think he would say a single word.

I was around in the fifties, sixties, seventies ,eighties, nineties and the
last seven years of beekeeping.

The single word would be "pesticides".

Grandpa beekeeper would say:

"Two signs of pesticide kills Sonny! "

1. bees dead in front of hive

2. brood and no bees

In beekeeping in my opinion you always need to consider the simple answer
first. The above is the simple answer. Once eliminated as the source of the
disappearing bees then look to other causes. My first beekeeping mentor was
in his nineties and had been a commercial beekeeper all his life. He started
commercial beekeeping in the 1800's and his words still come to me. At times
I even think I feel his presence in the bee yards.

Have we eliminated pesticides as a cause of CCD and ready to look elsewhere?

From Dennis upcoming article:
Dennis quotes from a 2003 article by Bortolotti:
" when colonies are placed near crops of sunflowers treated with
imidacloprid , foraging is disrupted and colonies dwindle and DIE as
foragers FAIL to return to the hive"

 Sounds like CCD to me.

I have got a very close friend which works at the huge Bayer office in
Kansas. Several weeks ago I asked a single question and for him to keep his
ears open.

I asked:
" How serious is Bayer about fighting beekeepers over imidacloprid IF (big
what if!) its use becomes suspect in the recent die offs"

I got my answer last night.

My friends if our researchers point the finger at imidacloprid we are in for
a fight. For every study done to show harm they have got a study to show
otherwise. It seems pesticide treated seed  is a big selling point and money
maker for Bayer right now.

Hopefully " Grandpa beekeeper" is wrong on CCD being a pesticide kill.

Also if pesticides are source of CCD then nothing to research. Hmmm.

"Grandpa Beekeeper" said back when varroa first hit the solution was genetic
and not chemicals. The Dann Purvis solution of * breeding from survivors*
was the long term solution because sooner or later  with chemicals we would
end up with a super mite, contaminated comb  and bees which could only
survive with chemical treatments.
Was "Grandpa beekeeper" correct ?

Did Grandpa not predict this day would come?

Today's farmers are not the farmers I grew up with. Today's farmers farm in
air-conditioned cabs listening to CD's. The days when we grew "Dent's corn"
and replanted the seed the next year is gone except for a few organic
growers. I have seen corn 10-12 feet tall with ears 12-18 in. The ONLY fault
I could see is the corn back then would blow down in a strong wind storm. As
a teenager I traveled with an uncle selling the new hybrid corn out of the
back of his truck Sales were hard in the fifties. Why would you spend money
on corn seed those farmers asked my uncle?
My uncle was a super salesman. He used to laugh as we left about making
another sale of seed corn.
Now farmers are dependent on corn seed sellers and chemical companies for
corn production now.
Think of what farming profits on corn might be (for example) if you did not
need to buy seed or herbicides. I bought a gallon of herbicide last week
$120 a gallon.  I think "Grandpa farmer" would roll over in his grave if he
could see the hold the seed pushers and chemical companies have got on
agriculture!
 I used to try and set bees for years next to the old style farmer.
The guy who pulled a cultivator through the corn until the corn got higher
than the weeds. Huge honey crops from Blue Vine in those fields!
Tanker loads of chemicals dropped on fields! Atrazine in our water supply in
my county. hate to think what the water supply will be like in a couple
decades!

bob


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