Lloyd wrote:

>I have also been criticized (by other beekeepers) for sharing my views that
pesticide and other stress may be contributing factors.

Sorry to hear you have taken flak. It certainly surprises me that anyone
would doubt that colony collapse *could* be caused by pesticides or stress.
However, I do believe that no one really knows if there is a common thread
or what it might be. Furthermore, it isn't clear which is worse: pesticides
on the outside (from the environment) or the pesticides on the inside
(introduced by beekeepers). It could even be an unexpected reaction between
these (synergistic effect). 

The only ones I personally think are utterly implausible are: cell phones
and genetic weakness. I think the gene pool in the USA (or Europe and
Australia, for that matter) is so large and varied as to preclude
inbreeding. The idea that there is an absconding gene from early
importations of African bees is silly. Cell phones aren't worth discussing
at all, IMO. 

The article "Colony Collapse Disorder: Have We Seen This Before?" by Robyn
M. Underwood and Dennis vanEngelsdorp on the recurrence of disappearing bees
is highly enlightening. They mention over twenty occasions when a similar
die-off has been reported, going back to the 1800s -- well before widespread
chemical spraying, cell phones, and at a time the bee population was no
doubt much smaller and less varied than it is now.

pb

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