the thread was locked so i am adding this here
this is something i can speak to with personal experience..we have had bee hives for a long time..
hubby luvs those little critters and with a large garden i do too
a few years ago the mites were a big deal but able to be dealt with
a little vasoline on the entrances and they never got into the hives
two years ago we lost the last of the remaining 6 hives to colony collapse..we haven't been able to reestablish anything since....and not sure if we are going to try again..but i am running out of raw honey so i will probably push to re establish a few hives
what a lot of folks don't understand is that the bees need water lots of water
i took this pic in 2006..they had taken over several of the bird baths in my herb garden
because of so little rain..no puddles and the creek was almost gone
i had to get out there very early to make sure there was fresh water every day
they let me get close and take pics as a thank you
the point i am trying to make is that one of the biggest problems is not farmers it is homeowners and roundup....it gets into places where the bees can get it..and sprayed on weeds that are in your garden or flower beds it is a bee killer...because one bee takes it back and they all share
we believe what finished them off was when they sprayed the river for mosquitios
it's less than a mile from the hives
everytime we as comsumers use a chemical because it is easy we are destroying something of nature
our choices of ease and convience are what causes most of it...walk into any store..even the grocery store and see how big the insecticide aisle is..and how many chemical products are in every aisle
i have only one use for bug spray..and that's against someone breaking into my home...i keep a can of that wasp spray that shoots 12 to 14 feet incase of a break in..one shot to the face and
no loud bang from a gun or nasty ass residue on your hands ...
sorry got side tracked there
my main point is we can't call the chem companies evil if we are buying their stuff now can we..?
believe it or not you have more power in what you purchase than anything else..
if there isn't a profit..it goes away..pretty damn simple
ok..off the soapbox..