Hi All

Dee wrote:
> So if herbicide resistant plants are a result or roundup
> incorporated too, would that need further research to
> understand why and to what extent it makes bees avoid the
> plants? Could it be harmful to them some way with the
> pretty pollen, like those shiny red apples?

There is no evidence that the bees are avoiding the plants!
There were fewer bees per sq metre on GM canola as compared
to the other types, that is all.  And more on organic than
conventional.  There are good reasons why this could happen
and they relate to the whole agroecosystem, not the exact
genetic make-up of the crop.  Allen is right that some
cultivars (GM or not) are intrinsically more attractive than
others (GM or not) but there may be better explanations for
what is happening here.

It is well known that agricultural intensification
jeopardises wild bee populations and that this can affect
the pollination of crops (see Klein et al below).  More
intense systems mean fewer bees, due to less bee habitat and
often more pesticides.  Fewer bees in the environment mean
fewer bees seen on crops when the crops come into flower.

Another interaction in this system is the size of fields and
the total area of the crop.  A sudden flush of high sugar
nectar-secreting attractant such as canola for just a few
weeks attracts pollinators from the surrounding area.  If
there are few, small fields then the number of wild bees
seen per sq metre in canola will be relatively high.  If
there are many, large fields the pollinators spread out and
few will be seen per sq metre.

It seems likely that *farms* with GM canola will be
different in some way from conventional farms and that these
will be different from organic.  These will be the types of
factors causing the results described.

hope that helps

Gavin

Alexandra-Maria Klein1, *, Bernard E. Vaissière2, James H.
Cane3, Ingolf Steffan-Dewenter1, Saul A. Cunningham4, Claire
Kremen5 & Teja Tscharntke1

Importance of pollinators in changing landscapes for world
crops

Proceedings of The Royal Society B
ISSN: 0962-8452 (Paper) 1471-2954 (Online)
Issue: Volume 274, Number 1608 / 07 February 2007
Pages: 303-313
DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2006.3721

http://www.journals.royalsoc.ac.uk/media/1exdm0dvmk6ynk9h9j5m/contributions/8/w/4/2/8w42n6v08k761023_html/pdf/PB070303.pdf

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