>I encourage comment, why do you think I post?

I'm also closely following Traver/Fell's research.

I agree with Bob, that we should avoid the word "toxin" with fumagillin.
 However, it is clearly an immune suppressant, and recent data from Dr.
Frank Eischen demonstrate that treatment with it suppresses bee protein
levels for a period of time.  On the other hand, fumagillin can turn around
a nosema epidemic.

The data on N ceranae prevalence and intensity is confusing.  A few studies
have found higher titers of nosema DNA during summer, but in general, the
infection appears to closely track temperature, positively correlating with
cold.  In most, but not all, places, N ceranae spore counts appear to spike
in early spring, and disappear by August.

Re Traver's 5 hives.  In some studies that found little effect of N ceranae
(including Traver's and Gisder's), the level of infection was minor
compared to what many of us have seen in the field.  So I'm not so
concerned about only using 5 hives, but rather about extrapolating
recommendations from studies in which nosema never reached the levels that
we commonly see in the field.

-- 
Randy Oliver
Grass Valley, CA
www.ScientificBeekeeping.com

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