# Bees in California



## dcross (Jan 20, 2003)

What did you have in writing?

Were the hives inspected by a third party before you sent them?


----------



## loggermike (Jul 23, 2000)

Hives from all over the country get placed in close to each other during almond bloom.It cant be helped.In the past when most people had a good handle on varroa,it wasnt that big a deal.Now with treatment failures everywhere its just rotton luck that your bees picked them up,assuming your bees didnt bring the problem with them,which only your late season sticky board tests would show(a point you would have to prove in a lawsuit).At this point I would be thinking of splitting the survivors right after almonds to get your deadouts re-stocked.


----------



## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

BTW this is the "Top Bar Hive" forum. I think I'd put this in the "Bee Forum".


----------



## loggermike (Jul 23, 2000)

Now Michael,we have to assume his frames do have top bars, so technically......


----------



## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

I'm sure they do.


----------



## thekeeper (Nov 24, 2004)

Ya the mite problem is unwinnable best you can do is keep treating and watchin mite drop.Started in nov in CA 400 colonies now have 170 week and strong.about 60% so far probly loose 70% buy the time they get home.


----------



## loggermike (Jul 23, 2000)

Well I feel for you.Had a similar loss a few years ago and it really hurts.Guess you shouldnt feel like the lone ranger,this is happening all over.Everyone coming out of almonds better be on guard this year in case they picked up some big mite loads.


----------



## odfrank (May 13, 2002)

I am down 33% in California, have never moved my bees, and have no or few other beekeepers in my range. Its a bad year for mites, or maybe I should say a good year for mites and a bad winter for bees. More than half of the remaining hives are probably to weak to make a crop, if they survive. And that was with strips. Most of the hives with new queens look good.


----------

