Imidacloprid is the first highly effective

> insecticide whose mode of action has been found to derive from almost
> complete and virtually irreversible blockage of postsynaptic nicotinergic
> acetylcholine receptors
>
> "The biochemistry of imidacloprid" (1991) - Planzenschutz - Nachrichten
> Bayer; Abbink. J. (Bayerwerk AG, Wuppertal - Eberfeld, Germany) - Pharma
> Forschungszentrum.


Good sleuthing, Ghislain.  I had a heck of a time getting a copy of that
paper a couple of years ago!  And after reading the above sentence, I then
asked Dr. Casida for a more recent update.

If the blockage were indeed irreversible, then the numerous studies that
have demonstrated that bees are able to easily tolerate chronic exposure
(such as Cresswell's recent study), and who regain motor function after
acute exposure, would need to explain how such observations are possible.

-- 
Randy Oliver
Grass Valley, CA
www.ScientificBeekeeping.com

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