All colonies were fed equal amounts of sucrose syrup until natural forage was abundant in May. Treatments consisted of untreated MegabeeĀ® protein patties (100 g each) or patties containing 5 and 20 ppb of imidacloprid made by mixing neat material with the sucrose solution used to make the protein patties. We verified pesticide exposure to colonies by measuring the weekly consumption of the treated protein patties and by analyzing the level of imidacloprid in stored bee bread and random-aged bees removed from colonies 1 week after the exposure period The current study, with the more robust chronic sublethal pesticide exposure at the colony level, clearly demonstrates that such interactions are possible in the real world, not just in a laboratory setting. Individual bees in our study showed a marked increase in Nosema spore production in the laboratory but the parent colonies failed to show increased Nosema levels over time. *********************************************** 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 Guidelines for posting to BEE-L can be found at: http://honeybeeworld.com/bee-l/guidelines.htm