>This seems like an improvement, ecologically speaking.  What am I not
understanding?

Yes - a huge improvement when Hostathion was banned, but that was long before the neonics were introduced.  After Hostathion I think that we had an era of very responsible use of insecticides.  The law was changed to make irresponsible spraying a criminal offence, rather than something which had to be pursued in civil law, so we saw much greater co-operation between farmers and beekeepers.  I think this benefited not just honey bees, but other pollinators too.

Best wishes

Peter 
52°14'44.44"N, 1°50'35"W

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