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Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology

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From:
Stellio Matson <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Sat, 31 Mar 2012 17:20:15 -0700
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Here's a brief summary of the two bee stories and responses from
Bayer CropScience.

Dave Goulson study:
http://www.sciencemag.org/content/early/2012/03/28/science.1215025

GOULSON STUDY SUMMARY: We exposed colonies of the bumble bee
Bombus terrestris in the lab to field-realistic levels of the neonicotinoid
imidacloprid, then allowed them to develop naturally under field
conditions. Treated colonies had a significantly reduced growth
rate and suffered an 85% reduction in production of new queens
compared to control colonies. Given the scale of use of neonicotinoids,
we suggest that they may be having a considerable negative impact
on wild bumble bee populations across the developed world.

BAYER CROPSCIENCE RESPONSE: Julian Little, spokesman for
Bayer Cropscience, criticised Goulson's study because the bees
were exposed to imidacloprid in the labaratory, before being
placed outside in a natural field environment to feed. "All
studies looking at the interaction of bees and pesticides
must be done in a full field situation," he said. "This study
does not demonstrate that current agricultural practices
damage bee colonies." http://tinyurl.com/7n86thg

Mickaël Henry study:http://tinyurl.com/cjj64rj

MICHAEL HENRY STUDY SUMMARY:  Nonlethal exposure of honey
bees to thiamethoxam (neonicotinoid systemic pesticide) causes
high mortality due to homing failure at levels that could put a colony
at risk of collapse. Simulated exposure events on free-ranging
foragers labeled with an RFID tag suggest that homing is impaired
by thiamethoxam intoxication. These experiments offer new
insights into the consequences of common neonicotinoid pesticides
used worldwide.

BAYER CROPSCIENCE RESPONSE: The French honeybee
study, though clever in the way it used microchips to follow the
bees, is seriously flawed because the dose of pesticides given
to the bees was "really way too high," says David Fischer, an
ecotoxicologist at the company's U.S. headquarters in North
Carolina. He says the bees were exposed to many times
more pesticide than they would encounter in the real world.
http://tinyurl.com/7bo6clp

Paul Cherubini
El Dorado, Calif.

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