> If this article is accurate, then those that are hugging trees the hardest were right....imidiacloprid hurts bees even at undetectable levels....making the "detection game" useless.

I am sorry, but *even if* imidacloprid can be shown to cause harm at very low levels, that *does not* make the doomsayers right and everyone else wrong. 

We have asked for scientific evidence, before making sweeping statements and ill informed decisions. They have insisted on condemning a whole class of pest control products a priori -- because "they're new". That's wrong. 

We have pointed to bee losses due to pesticides over many decades, and these folks insist that the current losses are "unprecedented". Also wrong. 

We have shown time and time again the effect of untreated parasitic infestations and viral infections on colonies; the anti-neonics accuse us of creating a distraction from the "real issues" and using science to confuse people. Not so.

We have pointed out that honey bees and people have to live in a real world which is plagued by agricultural and industrial pollution, but some  folks seem to think that if neonics were banned we'd quickly enjoy the Second Coming.

Reality is ugly at times, but it does have the merit of being the real thing.

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