>According to Schacker (2008), the bees [in France] started > >> to recover in 2005 and even larger numbers were seen in 2006 > Thanks Bill. Unfortunately, the above citation was for a highly biased and speculative popular press book, and without supporting evidence, must be considered as being apocryphal. Especially since the claim is not mentioned in the in-depth assessment of fipronil in 2013 by EFSA http://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/efsajournal/doc/3158.pdf The above review is quite thorough, and suggests that bee exposure to sunflowers seed treated with fipronil could in some cases be right at the edge of chronic toxicity, but in most cases below the level of expected negative effects. However, the authors are clear that there is a lack of good field data. If anyone on the List has actual evidence of bee health improvement linked to the suspension of use of fipronil, I would very much like to hear of it. -- Randy Oliver Grass Valley, CA www.ScientificBeekeeping.com *********************************************** 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