North Dakota, with an estimated 382,500 hives, led the country in honey production last year. "This is a really big deal for the honey industry here," state Agriculture Commissioner Roger Johnson said. Randy Verhoek of Bismarck said he lost half his 13,000 hives this year, costing him about $400,000. "We'd go out one day and find full boxes, and a week later they would just be gone," he said. Verhoek said he lost money because he did not have his normal hive count for pollination in California almond orchards. He said he had to send weakened hives to Texas for rebuilding. Verhoek and Gackle beekeeper John Miller, with 10,000 hives, say the phenomenon of collapsing colonies may have many causes, including drought, disease and insecticides. Miller said neither scientists nor beekeepers understand what's at the root of the collapsing colonies. He believes about a third of collapsing colony disorder is due to poor management by the beekeepers. "They aren't following the new standards for hive husbandry," Miller said. "Things have changed." www.havredailynews.com -- Peter L. Borst ****************************************************** * Full guidelines for BEE-L posting are at: * * http://www.honeybeeworld.com/bee-l/guidelines.htm * ******************************************************