Hi All

Tim discussed pesticides applied by seed dressing and commented: 

> This is nothing like spraying pesticide onto a field.

I'm not so sure about this, as seed dressing pesticide can be more or less neat, whereas sprayed active ingredient will be diluted before spraying, then, assuming no direct hit, possibly diluted through the plant before it reaches pollen or nectar.  So both could be dangerous, but yes, small seeds may give less risky crops.

The US had an unusually hot and dry summer last year.  Murray mentioned the likely suppression of late summer brood and the lack of young bees for the winter.  Weather stress could lead to increased disease problems directly, and the elderly nature of the bee population going into winter could exacerbate the problem.  But might the hot dry summer make pesticides worse too?

In a hot summer bees will be seeking out water to keep the hive cool.  As far as I know they will spread the water about on the comb where it will evaporate.  The water they collect will itself be evaporating and concentrating any impurities.  Where were they collecting the water they needed last summer?  If the main losers from CCD were large migratory operations, were they in locations where their bees would rely on irrigation water?

Might the water used for irrigation itself be contaminated with pesticide?  Or might the irrigation water be deliberately laced with neonicotinamides??

See here for ground water contamination in New York State:
http://pmep.cce.cornell.edu/profiles/insect-mite/fenitrothion-methylpara/imidacloprid/imidacloprid_let_1004.html

And for the deliberate use of imidacloprid directly in irrigation water, try Googling for 'imidacloprid' and 'chemigation'.  It appears to be an increasingly popular practice.

Opinions anyone?  Are CCD studies considering the possibility that contamination might be pesticides on dry comb rather than in honey or pollen stores?

all the best

Gavin.

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