>I would just like to know why you think that thiamethoxam degrades into
clothianidin

I thought that was commonly accepted.  Will have to go to the chemistry.  Do
you have any reason to think otherwise?


> >I could go on, but unless you have a more specific research proposal, its
> a
> bit pointless.


Sorry, Stan, should have been more specific.  Field trials of the sort that
you mention have been ongoing in Europe for some years, as well as the
practical experience on canola in Canada.  Critics always find some reason
to dispute them.

I have no doubt that exposure to any pesticide at any level will have some
sort of negative effect on individual bees.  What I want to determine is
whether long-term exposure of full-sized colonies under field conditions
will result in any measureable effect.

In order to avoid criticism, and to minimize variables, I'm thinking of
simply feeding  test colonies weekly with spiked wildflower pollen (not
spiked for the control group) during my late summer pollen dearth here in
the Sierra.  Feed through the last three brood cycles (9 weeks) prior to the
formation of the winter cluster, and then track until almond bloom in mid
Feb.

Measure weight gain, population, varroa, nosema, and virus levels at 4
intervals.  Myself being totally blinded as to treatment.

Such a trial should answer the question as to whether multigenerational
exposure of a colony in late summer causes any measureable effects during
the ensuing 5 months, encompassing winter conditions, as has been proposed
by some beekeepers.

I'm thinking of using wildflower pollen for two reasons: (1) to remove the
effect of the poor nutrition in corn pollen, and (2) since there is evidence
that bees preferentially find and forage for wildflower pollen even when in
corn (note that they make honey in corn areas, and corn does not produce
nectar).

I would have the samples spiked at the upper limit of levels of clothianidin
actually measured in corn pollen in actual fields (data has been collected
in Europe and the U.S.).

I proposed this very trial to beekeeping leadership two years ago, and
suggested that each of us run a portion of the colonies, all being blinded
so as to remove any possible investigator bias.  Unfortunately, no one was
game.  I would prefer that this trial be run by a number of beekeepers
concurrently--again, all being blinded as to treatment--and then compare the
results.

This is not complicated science--it is a very simple and straightforward
test with a single variable.  It tests the hypothesis that continual
exposure of a colony to clothianidin at normal field levels through three
brood cycles will have a measurable effect upon the colony over the
treatment period, and through the subsequent winter and spring.

I am open to suggestions!  I have no intention of going through a lot of
hard work if the results aren't going to be widely accepted (Bob being an
obvious exception).  I am soliciting feedback from the List as to the
experimental design.

Randy Oliver

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