Barbara Damrosch, of "The Garden Primer" says, in determining ripeness, "thump them and listen: a "ping" is unripe, a "pong" means it's ready. A dull thud means "sorry, you're too late."
"...bee holocaust Colony Collapse Disorder and hypothesize that the die-off could be a result of either a fungus, a nicotine-based pesticide, or a virus. - Novella Carpenter