>In the UK, neonicotinoids have been used as seed treatments on OSR for 10
>years. This suggests that if pesticide use was reducing pollinator
>effectiveness then this would also be detrimental to crop productivity.
>Consequently, the claim that treatment of OSR with neonicotinoids kills
>pollinators is partly countered by the success of the crops themselves.

Does this not ignore the fact that OSR is not dependent on insect
pollination?  (It is also wind pollinated and can pollinate itself if all
else fails).

For the past ten years we have had very poor crops of honey from OSR and
colonies have failed to build on it as they used to do when I started
keeping bees 30 years ago.  Indeed, the Bee Farmers Association have been
sponsoring a PhD student to try to determine whether the lack of crop in
recent years was due to new varieties of OSR that produced less nectar.
Perhaps we now know the real reason.

Best wishes

Peter
52.144442, -1.503509

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