>This was not a lab experiment, there were 30 colonies in the field.  The

> other two papers on this effect were lab trials.


For the benefit of the List, perhaps we should review  the study design.
 The source colonies were kept in the field, and had no demonstrable effect
from being fed imidacloprid over 10 weeks.  Tellingly, nosema levels in the
field colonies did not correlate with exposure to imidacloprid (the "real
life" situation).

The experiments were done with protein-starved bees held in cages in an
incubator.  Those bees were inoculated with extraordinarily hive numbers of
nosema spores--about 16x higher than that used by most researchers.

Note that there was no dose response to treatment, a red flag.  There were
issues with this study that some reviewers found troubling.

The suggested epigenetic effect is of great interest, and needs to be
followed up with attempted replication.

>And the Vidau paper studies fipronil and thiacloprid.  Fipronil is not a
> neonicotinoid (but it is also systemic).
>

From memory, one insecticide increased nosema spore counts, the other
decreased.

>So is there a flood of research going on now to investigate these
interactions?  Are the regulators taking note and asking for it?

Of course there is!  And yes, they are asking.

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

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