It seems that some well-meaning elected officials want to try to legislate some science. Our friends at the NRDC are still working to "suspend use of the most bee-toxic neonicotinoids for use in seed treatment, soil application, or foliar treatment on bee attractive plants ...and to review these neonicotinoids and make a new determination about their application and safe use." http://govtrack.us/congress/bills/113/hr2692/text "the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency shall suspend the registration of imidacloprid, clothianidin, thiamethoxam, dinotafuran, and any other members of the nitro group of neonicotinoid insecticides..." Not sure what they would have growers use instead - perhaps [shudder] Organophosphates? Jennifer Sass's email address is [log in to unmask] for any growers who'd like some advice on crop protection in the interim. Here is the NRDC blog post: http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/jsass/defenseless_bees.html or http://tinyurl.com/o75ucd9 "It is now evident that even low field-realistic levels of neonicotinoids ('neonics') - a class of pesticides purposely designed to soak into the whole plant - are compromising the immunity of bees, leaving them unable to fend off viruses and other deadly pathogens that stress and eventually kill bee colonies. It is a deadly one-two punch. The bees are immune compromised from the pesticides, and then fall prey to mites and other viruses that kill them." So, the speculation here is that the systemic pesticides "weaken" the bees, and they die from viruses that were already known to be fatal long before the systemic pesticides were first used. Or something like that. Perhaps Ms Sass can contribute her favorite studies to our "big toxicology scatter diagram" project. I would have thought that the NRDC would have learned from their embarrassingly futile attempt to "ban" spirotetramat that when EPA revokes a pesticide registration, this renders all existing stocks completely unregulated. Growers are thereby free to ignore all bee-protective warning and cautionary language. To quote the EPA: "[The Court] vacated all registrations issued by EPA for pesticide products containing the active ingredient spirotetramat. There is no corresponding provision of FIFRA that prohibits USE (as opposed to distribution or sale) of unregistered pesticides. Furthermore, section 12(a)(2)(G) only makes it a violation of FIFRA for any person to "use any REGISTERED pesticide in a manner inconsistent with its labeling"; there is no provision that requires that unregistered pesticides (including formerly-registered pesticides) be used according to their labels. Thus, in the absence of EPA action, users of unregistered pesticides are NOT OBLIGATED TO FOLLOW THE LABELING (which, for registered pesticides, prescribes enforceable conditions for using the particular pesticide, among other things) accompanying the product. Therefore, once the registrations are terminated, unless EPA takes action, persons holding stocks of spirotetramat will not be legally precluded from using those stocks without following label directions, INCLUDING THE RESTRICTIONS on timing of applications that EPA required in order TO PROTECT BEES." Here's the full story on Spirotetramat, which was only one Marx Brother short of becoming a comedy film festival: http://community.lsoft.com/scripts/wa-LSOFTDONATIONS.exe?A2=ind1306&L=BEE-L& P=R5816&1=BEE-L&9=A&J=on&d=No+Match%3BMatch%3BMatches&z=4 or http://tinyurl.com/nfz9wdm Speaking of the toxicology scatter diagram, here is the data entry form, revised per Dr. Wahl's comments: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1CGxVE5msC2PTtj-SL4oKhrxuUObkCL_U5IipdC_moT4 /viewform or http://tinyurl.com/l5m5gt2 Randy, we're looking in your direction for at least pdfs of the many studies you say you have read, and for which I hope you still have pdfs. Christina can't be expected to do all this alone, and the NYPL journal and serials access that I have is laughable. The nicest thing would be to fill out a record for each study one has, if time allows. Any number can play. *********************************************** 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