I (Peter Borst) find it ironic that one of the most common responses by laypersons to scientific works is to question the methodology. As laypersons, we have no choice but to rely on experts. WE cannot take these measurements, so we must accept that they are done correctly. The best way to assure this is to compare the various reports and if they consistently agree, then we can begin to accept that there may be a consensus. Either that, or a conspiracy to cook the data to support the industry's wish to cover up the facts. * * * Quoting from Ecotoxicology (2012) 21:973-992 This review summarizes, for the first time, 15 years of research on the hazards of neonicotinoids to bees including honey bees, bumble bees and solitary bees. An extensive inventory of imidacloprid in bee-collected pollen, honey and bees was performed by Chauzat et al. (2006, 2009, 2011), involving five sites across France with sampling of bee hives of five beekeepers in each area for 3 years and with four sampling events per year. Imidacloprid was found in 40.5 and 21.8% of the pollen and honey samples, respectively. The metabolite 6-chloronicotinic acid was present in 33.0 and 17.6% of the respective samples. The sampling took place in four agricultural areas and one natural area. No significance difference was found in the frequency of pesticide residue detection in pollen and honey between the different sampling areas Many lethal and sublethal effects of neonicotinoid insecticides on bees have been described in laboratory studies, however, no effects were observed in field studies with field-realistic dosages. Finally, during the preparation of this review it was observed that results/data on concentrations, side-effects and risk assessment studies are available, but that many data are scattered and/or not publicly available. A better communication between industry, academia and government may help for a "better" risk assessment. The latter can also help to provide answers to the questions/concerns as present in the public media/society. No Longer Quoting from Ecotoxicology (2012) 21:973-992 *********************************************** 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 Guidelines for posting to BEE-L can be found at: http://honeybeeworld.com/bee-l/guidelines.htm