> My interpretation of dwindled hives in late October in MN is mite loss. What kind of message does that video send to farmer/landowners ? Do you think he shows that video to his bee yard land owners? What an embarrassment really to commercial beekeepers in the USA. Making sweeping accusations with zero lab samples or mite count data does nothing to move  our issues forward.

The maudlin music only made it worse. Working as  NY state bee inspector I saw this over and again. The beekeepers put on supers and then ignore the bees all summer. They take the honey and the hives are full of mites and dying from PMS. Not just commercial beekeepers but sideliners fall into the trap of thinking because the bees are filling the supers, they must be OK. Then after the supers come off, it's too late to save them. In our region and probably most others, the mites have to be killed off in August, if you want bees alive in October. And they have to be healthy in October if you want them alive in spring. 


PLB

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