>So the fungicide sprays are not necessarily acutely toxic or repellent

> to pollinators.


Thank you, Paul.  The lack of repellency and lack of acute toxicity are
actually part of the problem.  The bees will gather fungicide-tainted
pollen, and will survive to return to the hive.  It is then in the hive that
the fungicides do the damage.  This is not opinion--it is backed by hard
data from the Tucson lab and others.

>I consistently found native pollinators to be abundant
> along the margins of corn and soybean fields of the upper
> Midwest despite the widespread adoption of neonicotinoid
> insecticide treated seed; e.g. Syngenta's Cruiser (thiamethoxam)
> and Bayer's Poncho (clothianidin).
>

I have a good memory, Paul, and can easily recall your post of a few weeks
ago stating that observation.  In this case, however, we are not speaking of
the neonics, as the data generally support your observation.

We are instead speaking of fungicides applied to corn and soybeans.  Despite
your one-time observation, bees do indeed work certain varieties of
soybeans, and can actually make a honey crop from them.  I cannot confirm
that they gather pollen from soybean flowers, but see no reason why they
wouldn't.

If such pollen is contaminated with fungicides applied due to the rainy
weather, then one would have every reason to expect damage to brood,
regardless of whether neonics had been applied.

Randy Oliver
Spelling it out

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