Dear Bill,
"A BB gun and a 22 have the same basic characteristics,except for the BB vs
the 22 bullet. It is only a matter of scale. So if I shoot some one with a
22 it is the same as the BB. Or being hit with a rubber mallet or sledge
hammer. Amounts matter especially if you are in effect overloading the
system. One is harmful and the other is not.
Some of the studies show that the effect of the neonics on the bee wears
off in time. But then, they were field tests and did not reflect the
reality of the lab."
Here's another way to think about this.
The BB gun and the 22 both pierce things...including flesh. In both cases, the effect is the same, as you say.
If you attach one molecule of acetylcholine to a receptor, it will let a few ions into the neuron. If you have a number of acetylcholine molecules, they'll all attach and let some ions into the neuron. Eventually enough ions get in to start an action potential. That's how it works.
Normally, the ion gates close almost immediately because the acetylcholine is broken down in the synapse.
Here we have two things happening: neonics bind to the receptor, simulating acetylcholine....and the receptor stays open, because the binding is irreversible....so ions keep going in.
Organophosphates denature acetylcholinesterase, so the native acetylcholine stays in the synapse, and also causes ion gates to open.
If you cannot reverse this process, then whether you have a BB or a 22 you still get the same effect, because you "keep shooting". I suppose enough BBs in the right places would eventually wear out the target?
Lab work does have its place in the real world. If it didn't, Louis Pasteur would never have discovered penicillin. Thomas Edison wouldn't have figured out electricity. Etc., etc.
In this case, the study backs up field evidence that bees are suffering from cognitive problems by providing a possible mechanism. It is further supported by 100 or more years of neurophysiology which concurs on the basics of these receptors and their functions. Note that field studies indicate that OLD bees are most impaired (the foragers). This is consistent with cumulative effects. It also could explain spring die-offs, because if bees eat the stuff all winter and come out of the winter 3 months old, by then they really have had quite a dose. More work needs to be done to confirm this, but the evidence is mounting.
You don't have to believe these studies matter. But if I were you, I'd avoid being in front of BB guns with triggers stuck in the "fire" position and lots of ammo in the cylinders.
Christina
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