On Sat, 17 May 2003 14:33:51 +0100, "Mary Fisher"
wrote:

I'm fed up of this story. Our bumble bee population has been in decline for
many years and it's nothing to do with lack of nectar and pollen. It's about
loss of habitat by intensive farming, tidy gardening and building.

I thought there was also a problem with Varroa Bee mites that a
- decimating the current bee population
- starting to become resistant to the only treatment available

Some people have done some work on this and alternative options exist.
Have a look at:
http://fp.oxbeeco.f9.co.uk/

You can purchase simple small garden hives from these people and I
have had bees in mine for the last few years.

Replace the obvious with Bigfoot