* There are a number of news stories out which mention the possibility
of bees being affected by GM corn pollen. Some refer to a "German
study".

Effects of Bt maize pollen on the honeybee
(2001 - 2004) Jena University, Institute of Nutrition and Environment

This project aimed to answer to the following question:

Does large-scale cultivation of Bt maize have an impact on the honeybee?

Overall it was not possible to prove the existence of any chronic
toxic effects of Bt176 and Mon810 Bt maize varieties on healthy
honeybee colonies.

In view of the extreme conditions under which the trial was carried
out (six-week duration, high Bt toxin content), the wide-ranging
investigations carried out show that toxic effects on healthy bees
under natural conditions can be excluded with a high degree of
certainty.

This result is further supported by the fact that honeybees only
collect small quantities of maize pollen, even in areas cultivated
with large maize plots, when other plants are available as sources of
pollen (less than three percent).

For monitoring purposes, nine bee colonies were located in the
immediate vicinity of a Bt maize field in 2003. Nine control colonies
were placed next to a non-transgenic maize field at a distance of
approx. five kilometres to prevent any overlap in the foraging areas,
whilst at the same time ensuring that the climatic conditions were as
similar as possible. During the flowering period, the frequency of
honeybee visits to the maize plants was recorded. The proportion of
maize pollen was recorded using pollen traps and microscopic tests.
The number of bees and their brood activity were established. Since
the colonies remained at the location close to the respective trial
plots, the bee colonies were also observed during the winter months.

During the flowering period the bees collected only a very small
proportion of maize pollen amounting to less than three percent (both
Bt and non-transgenic pollen). The maize pollen had no negative
effects on the number of bees or the development of the brood in the
colonies. The two groups did not differ in their development during
late summer or in their ability to survive the winter.

http://www.gmo-safety.eu/en/safety_science/68.docu.html

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