North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

["William C. Garthright" <billg@inebraska.com>]

FYI, here's an article in the /San Diego News/ with the title, "Bees in 
more trouble than ever after bad winter":

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/mar/24/bees-in-more-trouble-than-ever-after-bad-winter/

or

http://tinyurl.com/yakrnrf

The first two paragraphs:


> The mysterious 4-year-old crisis of disappearing honeybees is 
> deepening. A quick federal survey indicates a heavy bee die-off this 
> winter, while a new study shows honeybees' pollen and hives laden with 
> pesticides.
>
> Two federal agencies along with regulators in California and Canada 
> are scrambling to figure out what is behind this relatively recent 
> threat, ordering new research on pesticides used in fields and 
> orchards. Federal courts are even weighing in this month, ruling that 
> the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency overlooked a requirement when 
> allowing a pesticide on the market.


Luckily, I had lots of honey bees around last year, so I'm keeping my 
fingers crossed this year. I've been trying to establish a population of 
blue orchard (or mason) bees in my yard, but I haven't had any luck. 
Instead, I've been breeding tons of leaf-cutter bees, it seems.

Well, I'm glad to have leaf-cutter bees around, but they don't emerge as 
early as the blue orchard bees - or even as honey bees, apparently (at 
least, I usually see a few honey bees - only a few - around on my 
earliest-blooming fruit trees).

Bill
Lincoln, NE (zone 5)

http://garthright.blogspot.com/

--
Science has given us spaceflight, agriculture, computers, medicine, 
telescopes, and a deeper and quantitative understanding of the Universe 
from the quantum level out to its observable edge. Psychics have given 
us, well... y'know... um... oh! They make it easier for non-critical 
people to carry their now much-lighter wallets around. - Phil Plait