According to the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE), there is no single factor causing CCD (Colony Collapse Disorder), or the massive sudden die offs of honey bees worldwide.

They [finally] agree that it is man’s mis-management of the honey bees, and nature in general.

Now, I’m not a member of greenpeace, or wanting to reduce the human population to save the planet and I don’t really believe in climate change [global warming].  (I do believe that Al Gore is a pollutant, though).

I do believe, however, that where money is to be made, and where fear and comfort take precedence over cognitive reason, there will be those that turn a blind eye to the devastation that their greed, control and exploitation can do.

And I truly think that this is at the root of the honey bee die-offs.

Check the city ordinance where you live – are you allowed to keep bees in the city limits? What is the procedure followed when a swarm is found and called into the authorities?

What types of plants are you allowed to grow in your neighborhood?

In many communities, it is illegal to raise honey bees. IN most parks, mall parking lots and neighborhoods, there are no bee-friendly plants. No bee-friendly plants, no food for bees.

The OIE is blaming climate change, pesticides, viral and bacterial infections, parasites and the impact of “human activities” [translated to:  migratory | pollinator beekeeper "practices" | pollution | building shopping centers |industry and suburbs where bee fodder once was] on the environment.

For once, I’m afraid I agree with most of what they are saying…

–Pat

via Earthfiles.com Environment | U. S. Honey Bee Deaths Increase Again.

“The reports that I have gotten from beekeepers is that
about 30% of the healthy colonies that have gone to California -
for this 2010 almond pollination to fulfill pollination contracts -
have died in two or three weeks” - Jerry Hayes, Asst. Chief,
Apiary Inspection, Florida Dept. of Agriculture

Another recent article points to the chemical sprays used to kill a new disease that is crippling the orange trees in the orange groves of Florida.

Interesting that the above article states that the newly-arrived bee hives from Florida are dead within 2 – 3 weeks of arrival.