We do large Farmers markets and bring along observation hives. 

We have a sign on the table declaring it a cell phone free zone. Some folks freak out and pull out 
there phones and scramble to turn them off.  We try not to laugh. 

This past weekend I heard a new story I have not heard before from a farmers mkt customer. 

The bees are disappearing because of ozone depletion and the increased UV light is destroying 
the eye sight of honey bees. 

Spend a day with an observation hive at a farmers market and you find out how much of the BS 
has been taken as real information by the public. There's a small segment that believes honeybees 
are now almost extinct and think we're selling off the last of our honey before closing shop. They 
are then almost disappointed or shocked to hear our bees are ok. 

On the other hand the interest in honeybees is at an all time high. We get folks stopping by that 
would not normally give a honey seller a second look. There is also the expectation of paying 
higher prices. 

The 2 mysteries of CCD then could be, what is the cause of the disorder, and how did a 
nationwide loss that is perhaps not even in the top 5 of all time hive numbers lost in US history 
become such a major story? 

possible answers: internet where everyone is a now a reporter and an expert, global warming as a 
backdrop which feeds the concept the world is coming to an end and/or CCD coincided with a 
larger then normal winter losses in NE USA, all of above? 

anbody have some other theories?  

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