>Thanks again Randy, I apologize for jumping on you as I did! No problem Bob. I have personally seen the sort of minor kill typically associated with corn planting dust, and spoken at length with beekeepers who have suffered from more severe kills. In most cases, the colonies recover and produce honey. The problem is that there are often other variables involved. If the colonies are stressed by another variable (such as near starvation or high nosema levels at planting time) then such a dust kill can tip a colony over the edge. From the regulators' perspective, the number of serious kills may be considered to be "reasonable" unless beekeepers report all incidents. Even so, I absolutely do not feel that the unlucky beekeeper should be forced to absorb his losses without compensation. Re Pete's question about why beekeepers place bees near corn. Pete, fly over the Midwest sometime--I concur with Steve in that for beekeepers in a number of states, there are virtually no locations not within flight range of corn. -- Randy Oliver Grass Valley, CA www.ScientificBeekeeping.com *********************************************** The BEE-L mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned LISTSERV(R) list management software. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html