Preaching to the choir.

With all the uproar about neonics and how bad they are for our pollinators
> has there been a study as to how deleterious they are compared other
> comparable alternatives?  It may be that neonics may be the best of a poor
> situation.
>

That has been a problem, as noted by Randy and others on this list. The
discussion of.Neonics seem to exist in a scientific vacuum but not a
political or emotional one.

A rational discussion would result in much of what Randy wrote- look on
them as you would any new pesticide and recognize that they are
insecticides and should have label restrictions. I would not use them as a
soil drench or on certain plants. Plus I would put on restrictions where
bumblebees are in abundance. Plus, setbacks from water collection areas.
But these types of restrictions are common with new pesticides as data on
them is refined. Problem with neonics is those who oppose them want full
restriction instead of using them in a rational manner.

For me, the key to the neonics is that they meet the EPA requirements as to
minimizing harm to the applicators and those who come in contact with them.
They are much more user friendly than the alternatives.In essence, those
who oppose them seem to care more about a bee getting a bit drunk and
disorganized than a farmer's health.

I still cringe when I remember the use of cumophose by beekeepers on their
bees. Cumophose was not beekeeper or environment  friendly. It was an
organophosphate hence on the Sarin gas family tree..It is a nerve agent and
can cause a multiplicity of harm to humans. I never used it and am thankful
for beekeeper's health that it did not stay around long. Yet the same
beekeepers who used it in their hives are concerned about neonics which are
among the least found pesticides in beehives and least toxic to the
beekeeper.

Love the irony.

Bill Truesdell
Bath, Maine

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