> I know Allen has made up his mind that Imidacloprid is the problem
> in France.

Not true at all.  I have no experience in the matter and have no opinion.  I
have, however, decided that anything that seems to create such unanimity in
French beekeepers deserves our attention and respect and tried to make this info
accessible at http://www.internode.net/HoneyBee/Imidacloprid for
English-speaking beekeepers.

> Bayer's side of the story seems sound also. They say the product
> is sold in 70 countries and the only problem has been in France.

Look beyond the pretty words to the research and Bayer's 'proof'.  I do not find
it to be very thorough -- or convincing.  Moreover, there does not actually seem
to have been very much study done.  In what was done, the detection methods are
outdated and the assumptions made in setting up their studies seem to me to be
pretty shaky too -- IMO.  On their web page, they make a lot of noise about a
fairly small number of studies.  If anyone knows differently, I would sure like
a list of the studies and further details.

By pointing out the deficiencies in their proof, I am not saying that Bayer is
necessarily wrong.  What I am saying is that Bayer has not -- IMO -- done a
thorough and independent enough study to PROVE their conclusions.  Whatever the
truth is, it will continue to be the truth no matter how good or poor the
arguments of advocates for and against.

> .. and points out the problem has affected beekeepers across the
> country,INCLUDING many in regions where Gaucho is not used. Is
> this true?

I don't know if this is true -- and I don't know if anyone knows, since
imidacloprid is becoming widely used and the use is not reportable.  Apparently
some of the experiments in France (offered as 'proof') used -- accidentally or
not -- land on which imidacloprid had previously been applied as an experimental
control.  The researchers  were thus comparing imidacloprid treated soil to
imidacloprid treated soil instead of to untreated soil.  Such basic errors make
a study useless, yet I believe this research is still cited as 'proof'.

> If Gaucho is found to be the cause then all the worlds beekeepers owe
> the French beekeepers a debt of gratitude. If Gaucho is not the problem
> then whats going on with the French beehives?

Dunno, bob.

I am merely your faithful scribe, writing what I hear -- and trying not to add
too much to it.

My Gaucho site is at http://www.internode.net/HoneyBee/Imidacloprid

allen