>is anyone really surprised (or doubt) that sick bees are probably more
sensitive to toxins, and bees contaminated by toxins are probably more
sensitive to disease?

Not at all.  But science is all about putting our assumptions to the test.
Sometimes there are great surprises, such as the recent finding that adding
coumaphos to a stew of pesticides appears to make the mix less toxic to
bees!

Other surprises would be that CCD bees do not have ramped up immune
function, despite being badly infected!

Or that a bite by varroa suppresses immune function.

In fact, I could list a hundred findings about bees that have greatly
surprised me, since they appeared to be counterintuitive.

By the way, many diseases in humans are cured by giving the subject a toxin
at a low dose!

Randy Oliver

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