LETTER: Bee die-off cause and effect

Mark Balys says there shouldn't be any confusion as to what caused bee colonies to die during the almond bloom. He says he has witnessed crop duster planes spraying the almond groves with the bee colonies inside. He says this is what most likely caused the colonies to die off.

April 26, 2014; 05:00 AM

Several weeks ago my wife and I were returning from Northern California. As we drove down I-5 we noticed the almond groves and the beehives that were situated at the ends of the rows of trees for pollination “Bee colonies damaged after bloom” (Local, April 21). We also saw a crop duster plane spraying the groves and thought that common sense would indicate that these would be mutually exclusive activities.

It mystifies me why there is any mystery over the cause of the bee die-off.

Mark Balys

Riverside

Source:   http://www.pe.com