Bob,
Water and heat, would be the first to look at especially if
LC bees, as many down here with heat have had problems with
shorter flight range for water and ability to cool, for the
hive to cool is a reverse of wintering. Meaning that like
with hard clustering, it takes energy and movement of
muscles, to hard cool in reverse at high temperatures. 

Then you couple this with say muscle inhibators like
coumaphos being neuro toxic, and buildup in combs, and
situations can be created, with spikes in heat that bees,
just like humans with thick blood then placed into hot
climates have to quickly deal with, and somehow cannot.

Then you couple and add into this pot taking honey, and in
many cases either waiting for the bees to refill without
now the extra thermo regulation each frame around a
broodnest would give, or sugar feed not of caliper of honey
for heat/cold control, though sugar probably fed yet,
though honey could have been taken and bees are at a lot
for thermo regulation help in this aspect....

In a way it's something to be said again for SC and bees
that have denser muscle tissue and much greater flight
range for water....besides other things in unlimited
broodnest mgt like Farrar used to talk about.

But I think this is the basics really above, and just sad
he lost so many hives.

Respectfully submitted,

Dee A. Lusby
Small Cell Commercial Beekeeper
Moyza, Arizona
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/organicbeekeepers/




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