[ExI] bees again, was: RE: Death Valley

[spike]

>... On Behalf Of spike

>...  I don't know my beetles, especially the really tiny ones...spike
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You I watch these kinds of things.  I have had similar (comparable)
conditions for the last 20 years.  This has been the lightest bee year ever,
in all those two decades.  Coming back from Death Valley this past weekend,
we drove up through the Central Valley, where a prole drives for hours with
fruit and nut orchards on either side of the road.  These were in full
blossom.  I stopped and walked over to inspect the bee hives.  They were
clearly not healthy.  There were a few bees flying in and out, but it wasn't
anything like what it should be this time of year.

At home here, I see trees with one to four bees on it.  This time last year
the collective sound of bee wings was a steady roar, with hundreds of bees
working that tree.

I don't know what to think.  The ornamental cherries have already peaked and
dropped their petals, but the bees are missing.  I am going nuts trying to
figure out what is going on.  The fruit and nut crops might be severely
under-pollinated this year.  This is the modern Silent Spring.

Suggestions please?

spike