"Eugene says: 'I think it's well established that you can poison bees in a
lab with pesticides. I just don't understand why we keep paying people to do
so.' 
"We pay people to get beyond the obvious to figure out the mechanisms....the
hows and whys.  In this case, the researchers are trying to figure out what
sublethal effects actually are."

So the point is what, to determine the mechanism by which bee colonies WOULD
collapse from neonics, if they WERE collapsing from neonics? Shouldn't we
first establish that they ARE being killed? The problem with this study and
others like it is that they are immediately disseminated far and wide as
further "evidence" that neonics are "what's killing the bees".

"This would help, for instance, in being able to accurately describe why
some hives crash from Varroa next to other hives that appear to thrive."

If the crashing hives are right next to the thriving hives, are they not
both exposed to the same crops, treated or otherwise? If there's one thing
I've learned in 17 years, it's that hives in the same yard respond
differently to everything. That's why we always advise beginners to start
with not one but two hives, as two nucs or queens purchased from the same
supplier and exposed to the same weather, nectar and pollen sources, and
yes, varroa, will invariably fare much differently in the coming year.

Eugene Makovec
Missouri USA

             ***********************************************
The BEE-L mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software.  For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html