>Peter asked:
>
>Jerry, was your use of the word "hopefully" give some indication that all
>is not well with the manner in which some pesticides are investigated
>before being placed on to market?

Not necessarily.  Large molecules tend to break down into a host of
chemicals.  Simply stating a basic concept.

The 'manner' question is a different issue.  My own opinion is that the
tests required AND the manner in which some of these tests are conducted
leaves much to be desired.  We need to move away from the dead bee syndrome
toward a more realistic approach.  More and more, evidence points toward a
diverse array of potential behavioral responses that may be detrimental to
colony functioning.

Simply stated, label registration has always focused on how many bees are
killed and how fast.  Certainly, a dead bee doesn't gather nectar,
pollinate, etc.  But dead bees may stimulate adaptive responses in the
colony -- queen speeds up laying, new foragers appear in a shorter period
of time.

But what if the effect is that the pesticide or its breakdown products
affect the bees olfactory sense, memory, ability to perform basic
tasks?  Does it make any difference to the beekeeper whether the bees are
not at the flowers because they died or because they can't 'find'' them or
remember what they're supposed to be doing?  Will the colony respond in the
same way as it does to a loss of the field force?  Or, will the physical
presence of these non- or partially functional bees prevent the adaptive
processes from taking place?

Thanks

Jerry

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