I thought the bees demise was due to Citrus
growers wanting their Mandarins to be seedless
and are now wanting County regulations to be
enacted and imposed for a two mile honeybee
free zone (I am not being facetious here at all
and that some growers have resorted using nets
to cover their trees and chemical sprays to keep
the little critters away).

For years it was felt that there was too much
inbreeding going on with the bees that several
bee keepers noticed a decline in the overall
health of their bees and along with it came
decreasing numbers of bees in their hives.
Of course this was just a little before the
time that there were microwave relays
and the subsequent towers in our farm
land areas and city landscapes. Many
hives out here have vanished due to the
human pest stealing them. Hive theft
has been a big concern in recent years.
Other than a mite that has caused some
bee larvae problems, still the number
one cause of death for adult honeybees
away from the hive is due to pesticides.
Mostly overhead chemical and boom
sprays containing organophosphates.

Jim

As I remember it not that far in the distant
past we had some unusual solar flare activity
that could and did cause some disorientation
for bees once they were in flight. So much
so that they had a hard time maneuvering
around. I don't think that high frequency
radio waves and how bees can be affected
is anything new but to add it in with the
mite and perhaps too much moisture in
the hive then I am inclined to better reason
why the bees have left the scene. When
there is no sight of the bees once they have
left the hive tells me they may have found
a new home and some bees here have done
just that. There is another factor that may
have a less than desirable effect that no one
wants to talk about and that is air pollution
with higher than normal ozone levels. Acid
rain in of itself can be injurious to bees. I
think someone needs to find out where the
bees are going and if they died what did they
die from before pointing fingers and saying
this might be it and it may be a combination
of factors. Right now some areas are minus
a few bees that must have gone somewhere
and people finally noticed. Even apiculturists
are not lily white in all of this in their attempts
to produce more honey. The fumigation of
the hives more often than usual to check and
see the amount of honey has to accrue some
damage to the bee colony after repeated doses.

Jim