"Ann" wrote in message
...
Jangchub expounded:


Ann, did you hear this new theory that bees are somehow effected by
some chemical which is giving them a form of Alzheimers and they are
literally forgetting where their hive is, and also forgetting how to
alert one another with their dance which points them back in the
direction of this hive? I don't recall where I heard this, but have
you heard it in any of your bee keeping journals?

Imidacloprid. Google Gaucho and France. The French banned the stuff.
There has been an exponential increase in the use of it in this
country over the past two or three years. It's in the grub control we
put on our lawns (Merit), and they spray it all over ornamentals like
those huge sunflowers sold in so many markets, for blemish-free
blossoms. It's been shown to make bees 'forget' how to get back to
their hives. I think the link is strong, but it's the 800 pound
gorilla sitting in the middle of the room due to the chemical industry
in this country and how it's so imbedded into our agriculture and
economy. But that's just me.....

The CCD problem seems to have many sources, but the smoking gun seems
to point to too many chemicals in the environment. Remember,
honeycomb is like a sponge, it soaks up all of these toxins, which
include the stuff we're using for agricultural use and the stuff we're
(I'm speaking in the inclusive we here, not all beeks are using these
bad chemicals) using to combat the varroa mites. If you watched the
special PBS did on CCD you'd see the scientists astounded to see how
high the virus level is in our poor bees.

There is a movement to get beekeeping back to a more natural state,
but it's hard. A commercial beekeeper can't afford to let his stock
die off and let natural selection take place (selection for bees that
withstand varroa without treatment). The life of a commercial beek is
very difficult, there are fewer and fewer out there making a living at
it. The salvation may come from the hobbyists like us who keep bees
because we love them and love their byproduct, honey. We'll see how
it all goes. All I know is I'm trying really hard to get our six
hives through the winter. We treated with formic acid pads (formic
acid is naturally present in honey, it's non-toxic, and seems to have
been effective, there were dead mites all over the bottom board when
we removed the pads). I'll let you know in the spring if they make it
(fingers crossed).

Have you read any of the data out there on changing the size of the
foundation the honeycomb is built on? Supposedly going to smaller
comb helps as there isn't enough room for varroa to stay attached to
the bee and lay eggs in the comb.

Ted