> Does anyone see any detectable level of depletion of the worker
> force, or any reluctance of colonies to forage, during and after
> Checkmite treatment, whether or not the bees might also be accessing
> neonic-treated crops?

The problem is that unless these effects are huge, detecting them in a
real-world situation.  The normal background variation in performance is
large enough that small effects, like a 10% burden cannot be seen.

Nonetheless, a 10% burden over time wipes out the profit in a business
that only makes 10% of gross.

> For me, this smacks of research divorced from the reality of
> beekeeping, trying to tell us things that don't really happen in
> reality - at least not to any great extent.  But please correct me if
> I'm wrong.

If proven in the lab, then the next challenge is to detect it in the
real world.

Any well-designed functioning system (like a bee colony) has reserve 
capacity built in and provisions to buffer weaknesses or failures in any 
component.  We know that bee colonies can perform at considerably higher 
levels of production and activity than the normally do and many 
beekeepers try to figure out how to stimulate their colonies and get 
them to run full-throttle.  Nothing is designed to run full-throttle 
except in spurts.

That stimulation can either result in greater success or total failure 
depending on timing and luck.

So, even if there are significant burdens on field colonies from various 
diseases and chemicals, we may not see much effect until we add the 
"final straw".

IMO, we need to know the factors which may be acting at an individual 
bee level, even if they are not consistently manifested in a way we can 
easily detect on a colony level.

The challenges to our colonies may be so complex that we can only 
comprehend them one little isolated piece at a time, then guess how they 
add (or subtract) up.

Come to think of it, is this not a basic tool of science -- studying 
each part in isolation?

             ***********************************************
The BEE-L mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software.  For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html