[VxH]

I find this interesting:

[no bee remains are typically found around colonies struck by the mystery ailment. Scientists assume these bees have flown away from the hive before dying]

One possible explaination is that the bees get lost and are unable to return to the hive.

Possibly due to:

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=%22orientation+flights%22+Imidacloprid

[Calpernia]

Since birds have parasites, would this affect a birds mirgration?

And this university paper:

http://sifaka.cs.uiuc.edu/~qmei2/data/honeybee.biosis-1998.biomodel.xml
(html formatting is off; but the information is there)

says: "Imidacloprid is increasingly used worldwide as an insecticide."

So this is being sprayed? That means it isn't the mites?