This USDA neonic study, like the vast majority of others conducted 
to date by academics and government scientists, was not a field 
realistic study.  Thus the door is left open for anyone - even a
young teenager - do the simple, yet much more field realistic test of 
placing netted enclosures over milkweed plants growing next to corn and 
soybean fields to see if the monarch eggs, caterpillars and chrysalids 
develop normally.

I think that chances are very high the caterpillars would develop 
normally because it is routine to see freshly emerged (from their
chrysalids) monarchs in the late morning hours in the summer in
the vicinity of milkweed plants that are growing next to corn
and soybean crop fields. Also routine to see large monarch 
caterpillars feeding on these milkweed plants as well as other 
herbivores such as milkweed bugs and chrysomelid beetles.

Here is a brief video example shot in August 2011 of two large
monarch caterpillars on milkweeds growing along the edge of a corn
field near Elbow Lake, Minnesota, in the heart of GMO corn/soybean
country: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CjE68sYoimo

I will be returning to southern Minnesota and Iowa this summer to
shoot much high quality video footage of the abundant monarch
caterpillars and newly emerged monarch butterflies that can
routinely be found on milkweed plants growing next to GMO corn 
and soybean crop fields.

Paul Cherubini
El Dorado, Calif.

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