The additional details in the replies makes me feel more at ease. In my case, I literally am a backyard beekeeper, but I aspire to a higher level of beekeeping than that term usually implies. My main concern is with pesticides. Over the 15 years I been keeping bees, the area I live in has become more developed. The main floral source is blackberries (never sprayed, either left alone or cut down), but the development in the area has greatly reduced the amount of berries. My main crop is still blackberry, but as the years have passed I can start to taste other sources (herbs like thyme) so I'm assuming the bees are searching harder and going places I don't necessarily know about. I'm not sure what the risks are for the bees gathering from homes in the area that are using who knows what kind of chemicals in their yards. I'm very, very careful about brood comb and honey comb mixing so I don't have any worries about the miticides I use (beyond the question of their basic safety). But I'm less and less able to be sure about chemicals outside of the hive. Chris :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: -- Visit www.honeybeeworld.com/BEE-L for rules, FAQ and other info --- ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::