Planet in Peril (PinP) where science gets respect!

by Larry Powell    The group representing beekeepers in this country says 21 percent of honey bee colonies in Canada were lost over the winter of 2009-10. The Canadian Association of Professional Apiculturists (CAPA) says, of the 611,972 "over-wintered" colonies, 128,463 were dead or unproductive by spring.  According to these latest CAPA figures, belatedly released just this past Friday, this represents 1.4x the long-term winter loss rate for Canada.  The Association describes this as a substantial improvement over the previous three-year period during which losses averaged 32.6%. CAPA credits beekeepers' effective use of mite control products in the improvement in colony losses. It adds, "extension professionals" also attribute such improvement to a new mite-control product called "Apivar," approved for use last fall. CAPA tempers its optomitic message with this note of caution, however. " Though encouraging, it is too early to det

OnEarth By Sharon Levy - October 7, 2010 After years of mystery, a team of researchers has undercovered new... l.p. photo