No CCD was found in Maine before, during and after blueberry pollination 
by over 60,000 colonies. Lots of Varroa, Tracheal and other problems but 
not CCD. There were some CCD like symptoms, but CCD as a cause was 
eliminated because of observable factors or the way the colonies were 
transported.

The key here is you had reports of CCD in Maine by beekeepers but after 
further close, hands-on inspection, the actual cause was determined.

In Maine we have the best bee inspector in the US. I would trust his 
observations before any University Professor or even some other State 
inspectors. I have gone with him in the field and was more educated 
about what to look for in one hour than a year in books and my own 
inspections.

If CCD does come back in the fall, can we re-look at the fact that the 
viruses associated with Varroa and Tracheal kill colonies in the cool 
and cold months of the year and what we are seeing is the viruses and 
not some new exotic problem? It all gets back, in my opinion, to mites. 
We are chasing a will-o-the-wisp when the real killer of bees is known 
to us and right in front of our noses.

There are other instances when you have CCD symptoms and mites are not 
involved, but they are discrete, like transportation problems, drought 
and the like.

The problem with CCD, and it is confirmed by what we see in Maine, is 
that you rely on the beekeeper's input, and from what I have seen with 
some beekeepers, that is asking for problems. Time in grade, in the US 
Navy, never signified competence, only that the officer lived long 
enough and kept out of trouble. Same for beekeepers, but in some cases, 
it is they use shop towels soaked with Amitraz and are delaying the 
inevitable. It is not their experience, but their reliance on every 
known pesticide, legal or not, to quell the problem. I have seen their 
colonies in the blueberry fields and consider myself about as competent 
as they are, which is a devastating indictment.

Bill Truesdell
Bath, Maine

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