So glad to see Dave Green back on the list, an endless source of insight, information and experience on pollinators in general. Hope you stick around. Also, if neo nics in corn and possible other plants ARE affecting bees, what may they be doing in humans? I did field and literature work on various pesticide effects on aquatic systems back in the early '80's. Substances like Sevin, Dursban, Malathion, Dieldrin, and many others were thought to be completely harmless to mammals, although the evidence was clear that other vertebrates (fish) and invertebrates had subtle negative impacts, sometimes at parts per trillion levels. Many such pesticides are now limited or banned, and some folks like myself have permanent damage from exposures. Now we are putting systemic insecticides into all tissues of food plants. Even if plenty of money was available to study the effects, the study techniques are very very difficult to develop and may take decades even in the hands of pure research scientists with no vested interests. Our bees are not only the canaries in the coal mines, they are fundamental to agricultural economics as we know it. We need to demand that the laws (=labels) we have are followed and that science be funded to guide more accurate laws. Carolyn in SC, getting ready to check two hives that look like the Sevin dust kills I usually get in mid-summer. Argh! I'll know more once I get inside. Dave Green wrote: > ----- Original Message ----- From: "Peter L Borst" > Beekeepers who run away from pesticides are enablers, who let the > pesticide users continue sloppy usage. And, in the end, they will find > the kept bees crowded into smaller and smaller areas until there is > nowhere else to go. > > Dave Green, retired beekeeper *********************************************** The BEE-L mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned LISTSERV(R) list management software. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html Access BEE-L directly at: http://community.lsoft.com/scripts/wa-LSOFTDONATIONS.exe?A0=BEE-L