As an old livestock and diary farmer/rancher, I'm aware of the lack of veterinarians for bees in the U.S. I see parallels between beef operations and large migratory beekeepers, and dairy with queen producers or small scale beekeeping. In a feedlot (we once had 1100 cattle), one tends not to notice a sick cow until its down on its knees. I see the same in large bee operations with bees spread out over hundreds or even thousands of miles. Just too many to closely watch. In a dairy, one sees each cow twice a day, and its easy to spot subtle changes - she's off her feed, lethargic, etc. Something comparable occurs with queen producers, hobby bee, small bee operations - lots of personal attention, few enough colonies to check often. In both bee and dairy, the owner self-medicates the obvious, and you can buy the drugs at the local ranch supply. But, there are cases that extend beyond the capability, experience of the owner, or that may require additional testing. In those instances, one calls a veterinarian. I don't see any such option for beekeepers in N. America. I have heard that something like a veterinarian for bees may be available overseas. If that's the case, I'd like to know more, and I assume I'm not the only one on this list who might be interested. How does it work? Is it government or private? What are the services? What are the charges, and how charged - per hive, per apiary, on a service contract? Thanks Jerry **************Check out smokin’ hot deals on laptops, desktops and more from Dell. Shop Deals (http://pr.atwola.com/promoclk/100000075x1213345834x1200842686/aol?redir=http://ad.doubleclick.net/clk;209513277;31396581;l) **************************************************** * General Information About BEE-L is available at: * * http://www.honeybeeworld.com/bee-l/default.htm * ****************************************************