What do you think is the cause of CCD?

[MrILoveTheAnts]

I'm just curious what everyone is siding with on the matter.

[Jerrymac]

You left out GMOs

[Romahawk]

You left out Migratory Beeks.

[Jerrymac]

how would migratory beeks be responsible for someone elses bees not migrated?

[MrILoveTheAnts]

GMOs would be Chemicals I'd think. Herbicide and Pesticide and so on, I'm not restricting the choice to only GMO's.

[Romahawk]

how would migratory beeks be responsible for someone elses bees not migrated?

I guess I should have said that a bit differently. Migratory Beeks might or might not be the direct cause of CCD by virtue of their management practices but I think they are directly responsible for the rapid spread of this or any of the other bee diseases across the country.

[Jerrymac]

So your pick would be disease then? 

[Romahawk]

To pick one idea over another in the CCD discussion would imply some personal knowledge or experience in the subject and I have neither. If I were to hazard a guess it would be disease brought on by stress and chemicals. If this be the case then I shall not have to worry as I don't stress the bees anymore than needed and I don't add chemicals to my hives. 

[Mici]

you left out...like a hundred of combinations
well, seriusly you could at least put 2 or 3 combinations, considering stress, chemicals and mites go hand in hand

my opinion: don't know, everything in together threw out a hell of a cocktail don't ya think...

[Brian D. Bray]

Migratory beekeepers are more suseptable to exposure to adverse diseases and chemicals.  The movement of the bees stresses them further making the problem more intense.

[Michael Bush]

How about "all or most of the above"?

[Mklangelo]

You left out Migratory Beeks.

so then perhaps the Migratory Beeks are bringing something with them?  Then what are they bringing?  And from where are they bringing it?  It is highly unlikely (but not impossible I suppose while the trucker is having dinner or a shower) that colonies are picking up this "disorder" while moving down the highways at 60MPH... 


Is there info on the geographical/timline spread of CCD?  I'm sure there is.  I'd like to see that information.

[Romahawk]

How about if the hives are setting still in a yard somewhere before they are loaded on a truck. Are you saying that migratory beeks didn't haul Verroa, Small Hive Beatles, Fire Ants, and yes even AHB around the country? I have no experience or studies to indicate that this is a fact but it sure sounds logical to me.

[Jerrymac]

What ever the migratory bees might pick up is still one of the above choices.

[MrILoveTheAnts]

I don't know who edited this poll but they messed things up a little. I don't mind you adding solutions but don't change the ones that are up there.

Mites can't be the cause of this how? Many of them are microscopic and only 5% of the known ones are studied at all.

I believe it is a true mystery? This defeats the purpose of picking one doesn't it? We might as well make God a choice.

Return to the Wild? Bees do that when foraging.

Climate Change and Global Warming are different how?

[MrILoveTheAnts]

How about if the hives are setting still in a yard somewhere before they are loaded on a truck. Are you saying that migratory beeks didn't haul Verroa, Small Hive Beatles, Fire Ants, and yes even AHB around the country? I have no experience or studies to indicate that this is a fact but it sure sounds logical to me.

I'm sure they did spread things around but nothing that was already there. Fire Ants? no they are tropical, you'll only find them in places you'd find Killer Bees. On top of that Fire ants need an open environment free of native species to get started. They do awful out in the woods where there's a verity of native ants. This is why you really only find Fire ants in grass land.

[lively Bee's]

I'm sure they did spread things around but nothing that was already there. Fire Ants? no they are tropical, you'll only find them in places you'd find Killer Bees. On top of that Fire ants need an open environment free of native species to get started. They do awful out in the woods where there's a verity of native ants. This is why you really only find Fire ants in grass land.

We have Fire ants here in East TN.  We are not tropical nor are we grass lands. They live quite well in the forest here. I have been deer hunting and walked up on a fire ant mount in the middle of the woodshttp://www.state.tn.us/agriculture/regulate/plants/ifa.html

IMO I feel it might lay in the bee feed, HFCS, and Chemicals.

I would like to see a chart that shows beekeepers that lost hives and how they kept bees some thing like the following

Hives lost

pollen sub    yes no      brand,  amount, dry pattie other_____, feeding at time of loss
HFSC          yes no      brand,  amount, type HFCS-42 HFCS-55, Feeding at time of loss
Sugar         yes no      brand, amount , dry or as sugar ware mix 2:1, 1:1, other , feeding at time of loss
Chems        yes no      brand, amount, when applyed, when removed , chems on at time of loss

I would like to see facts

BeeKeepers might be makeing a death concoction and feeding to the bees and just dont know it yet.

This is why I have started following Mr. Bush and Dee Lusbys work.

[MrILoveTheAnts]

On the topic of Fire Ants, we do have a few native species that can be found in higher ranges. Actually a few of them are mix breeding with the Solenopsis invicta and making a sort of hybrid. With the exception of the smaller Solenopsis (sometimes called thief ants) it takes an expert to tell the difference between them, even I can't do this. Assuming it is S. invicta, which it could be, I don't imagen them being very common. You will run into other species of ant all around. But down south, closer to the ant's native climate, they do a great job of keeping their territory and only other invasive ants stand in their way.
http://www.dirtworks.net/Images/insects/fire-ants/usmap_intro.gif from http://www.dirtworks.net/Diatomaceous-Earth-Fire-Ant.html

Back to CCD, yes I'd like to know more info about it. Have there even been any new cases of it since the spring began? Our bees have been active a few weeks now, everyone is on alert about the problem, so does anyone see their hives succumbing to CCD?

[imabkpr]

lively Bee's;
On your chart of pollen patties, HFCS, sugar and chemicals I have to say no to all except sugar. I feed 1 to 1 sugar water as a build up food.
So you, [ in my case } can rule out sugar being a problem.
Hives lost 3
                    Charlie

[Eve Sylvia]

Are there any historians? Was there a time when there was such loss in the past?