Hi Randy,

I thought you asked me to answer a list of questions based on a paper that Ghislain brought forward.  He had also asked me to clarify the situation about "irreversible".

So I tried to do both of those things.  That's why I wrote.  With any pesticide that does not target the nervous system I doubt that I have anything to contribute to a discussion....Jerry or others are far more expert than I.   Even with pesticides that DO target the nervous system, I can only contribute from my understanding of neurophysiology.

There are bigger problems bees and beekeepers face than sublethal effects, that has been made abundantly clear.  Your recent article, forwarded to the list by Jerry, details these things thoroughly.  An analogy that might fit the situation and comes to my mind could be that neonics/other pesticides give bees a "chronic low-grade infection", whereas viruses and mites give them "pneumonia".

The suggestion we hear is that we should focus on the "pneumonia" (i.e., mites and viruses) and forget the other "infection" (i.e. sublethal exposures) because the latter are easier to live with but the former, being more acute, will kill.  This plan is very pragmatic, very focused, and it is mostly working.  I've never contested your position on this, although I worry somewhat about it.

I also wonder why this issue of receptor function is so difficult to settle...?  I must not be explaining it very well.

Christina

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