Here is the source of the source of the source article:
http://www.thepost.on.ca/2013/06/19/bees-dying-by-the-millions
They just used an estimation to calculate the numbers.
600 hives were lost on this particular farm.
37E6/6E2 ~6E4 bees per hive ? 60000?
Damn... they can pack a lot of bees into those tiny boxes...
Anyway, the farmer says that as soon as they planted corn nearby, the bees died...
[HR][/HR]Once the corn started to get planted our bees died by the millions,” Schuit said. He and many others, including the European Union, are pointing the finger at a class of insecticides known as neonicotinoids, manufactured by Bayer CropScience Inc. used in planting corn and some other crops. The European Union just recently voted to ban these insecticides for two years, beginning December 1, 2013, to be able to study how it relates to the large bee kill they are experiencing there also.
...
What seems to be deadly to bees is that the neonicotinoid pesticides are
coating corn seed and with the use of new
air seeders, are blowing the pesticide dust into the air when planted. The death of millions of pollinators was looked at by American Purdue University. They found that, “Bees exhibited neurotoxic symptoms, analysis of dead bees revealed traces of thiamethoxam/clothianidin in each case. Seed treatments of field crops (primarily corn) are the only major source of these compounds.
[HR][/HR]
Purdue study (published Jan 3 2012):
http://extension.entm.purdue.edu/beehive/pdf/multiple routes-PLOS.pdf
There is a registry for apiaries so that nearby farmers can be notified of their presence.
But that only works when all parties participate and respect the guidelines...