Dear Bee-L

I have been wondering ever since this "Fall Dwindle" thing first came up:
Just how is it different from what we have been seeing all along? I worked
at the Dyce lab for quite a few years and we often left hives untreated for
one reason or another. 

For example, we bought a dozen strong hives from one guy and used them to
obtain a steady supply of varroa mites for studies. We did not treat them
for mites in September and they proceeded to die, one right after the other.
Very often the bees would just vanish. Another time a whole yard died off in
the middle of the summer. 

So my question is: how is this CCD different from that? Maybe what we are
seeing is a combination of: 1) chemicals no longer working; 2) beekeepers
waiting too late to treat; and/or 3) earlier build up of mite populations. 

Personally, I don't think syrup is at fault because a lot of this crashing
is taking place after the summer honey flow, *before* any fall feeding has
commenced.

Peter Borst

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