What it did show was that if you directly inject the virus into the bee or  
larvae, it will die.  This is not a natural way
 
 
I had a Graduate Student who did his thesis on metallothion production by  
bees exposed to cadmium.
 
He spent months working out a procedure whereby the injection procedure  
itself wasn't a problem, AND he injected saline in to the controls.   
 
We've seen some discussion of 'treatment'.   In research,  although 
treatment is considered to be the factor(s) of interest, we have to  keep in mind 
that the controls need to be treated the same.  The trick is  in subjecting 
the controls to EVERYTHING except the treatment factor of  interest.  
 
In order words, you may be introducing inadvertent, unplanned treatments  
just by handling or absence of handling, etc.
 
So, if you pick up and feed bees in a trial, you  need to do the same  with 
the controls.
If you inject bees with a virus or a chemical, you  need to inject the  
controls (with the carrier solution).
 
My point on Bee-L other day, if you're looking at a low level  stressor, 
you may need to include a treatment that is a different kind of low  level 
stressor, so that you can see whether the effect, if any, is due to  the factor 
you  are studying or is just a stress response.
 
For field trials, if you have to open and manipulate colonies, pull frames, 
 look for queens, etc. for the treatments, you need to do the same to the  
controls.  Big issue here is often 'time' that the colony is open,  
disturbed.
 
Control does NOT mean leaving colonies undisturbed.  If you smoke the  
treatments to put something in the hive, you need to smoke the controls.   If 
you open the treatment hives, you need to open the controls.
 
Overall, I see shortcuts taken here, or just overlooking these  issues.
 
And, I admit, it can be challenging trying to figure out how to treat the  
controls the same as the TREATMENTS.  Note, I'm well aware of my shift in  
the use of the word treatment.  There is the TREATMENT of interest, and  
there are all the other things that  you do that may constitute a  treatment.
 
Jerry
 

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