Thanks, Jerry. >>Some of these were in the spring or mid-summer or early fall, with some chance of recovery by surviving colonies. <...> So, total losses for U.S. in 2006 -- probably tens of thousands. Will this impact the 500,000+ needed for almonds? I just remember how California inspectors graded the colonies last year. No weak colony was accepted into the groves at the agreed (premium) price. I can imagine a run up in prices as fewer US beekeepers will have sufficient colonies to offer. Perhaps, faced with a shortage, California will relax their grading policies or push to open up the borders to Canadian and Mexican beekeepers. It may certainly be different this year. Waldemar (who has way too few colonies to even consider moving to them to almonds :) -- Visit www.honeybeeworld.com/bee-l for rules, FAQ and other info ---