The short exercise on getting  an answer to the question of harm to
beekeepers who pollinate Canola in Canada seems to be fruitless, but we
have the answer. There is none that has been documented.

In fact the only documentation is that there is no apparent harm. That was
posted several times by Peter as a result of studies done specifically to
see what was actually happening in the field to commercial Canola
pollinators.

The problem I saw in posts about "problems" in Alberta, such as 50% bee
kills and somehow those losses and neonics (seed treated) are related is
the classic "correlation does not imply causation". Also, there was quite a
bit of trying to make others to prove a negative. In essence, we have a
problem so prove that it is not the neonics. If there is a problem then it
should be apparent and not in the I think or I believe world of conjecture.
Especially not left to a beekeeper in Maine to show that there is or is not
a problem.

(Hijack alert!) The argument that Randy s confronting is also classic in
that a researcher starts with a premise and proves it. That is not too hard
to do since any researcher can do it in how they model the experiment. We
see that often on this list.

(Another hijack) Another thing I see often is the apparent solution of a
problem in the lab which never goes much further. What is seen in the lab
is real, but it does not transfer beyond the lab doors. I read Eureka Alert
daily and if you took all the studies over a year you would be lucky to see
10% work as advertized. If they all worked we would live disease free and
have unlimited energy.

 I do enjoy this list and all its personalities and especially the
pontification, present poster included. (Was that a third hijack?)

Bill Truesdell who thinks "Alberta Canola" should have been a character in
the Sopranos.
Bath, Maine

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