Reply #9: Some Ohio bee keepers lost 70 percent of their hive - link.....

[1776Forever]

Ohio honeybees face scary spring
Numbers thinned by unexplained deaths, hard winter
Thursday, March 25, 2010 2:54 AM
By Misti Crane

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2010/03/25/scary-spring.html?sid=101

Honeybees continue to struggle for survival in Ohio and throughout the nation, putting in peril the well-being of everything from California almonds to backyard cucumbers.

As the weather has warmed, beekeepers checking into their hives have been finding significant numbers of dead bees, sometimes in the 70 percent range, said Barry Conrad, a Canal Winchester beekeeper.

"It might be the worst in history," said Conrad, who like other beekeepers has come to expect a 30percent loss over the winter, up from the 10 percent he used to expect.

Though colder-than-normal weather is being blamed for bee losses in warmer climates, the losses here are more likely being exacerbated by limited honey in the hives over the winter, Conrad said. Snow, in and of itself, isn't a problem and might even serve as an insulator.