[Pollinator] A new paper shows mixed effects of neonics on honeybee hives

[Hollis Woodard]

I totally agree, Clement. And we're already seeing the
misuse/misrepresentation of this article in the media, like this article in
the Guardian, which claims that "Research by the University of Maryland
this week found that a neonicotinoid developed by Bayer, imidacloprid,
isn’t the main cause of higher death rates in honeybee colonies in the US
over the past decade."

Um.. no it didn't.

http://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2015/mar/19/pr-battle-neonicotinoids-decling-bee-colonies-food-security?CMP=share_btn_tw

-- 
S. Hollis Woodard, Ph.D.
Section of Integrative Biology
The University of Texas at Austin


On Thu, Mar 19, 2015 at 11:32 AM, Clement Kent <clementfkent at gmail.com>
wrote:

> A new paper (Dively et al. PLoS One 2015, "Assessment of Chronic Sublethal
> Effects of Imidacloprid on Honey Bee Colony Health") makes interesting
> reading. Honey bee colonies were exposed to imidacloprid in pollen patties
> within the hives, and many variables relating to hive health were tracked.
>
> It will be important for a clear understanding of the issues around
> neonics to read this study carefully.
>
> Some important points to consider:
>
>    1. exposure to imidacloprid was via pollen patties.
>    - question: how much in-hive pollen do foragers eat?
>       2. strong effects of imidacloprid on colony survival over winter
>    were shown (their Figure 9,), but
>    3. effects on other endpoints were not significant.
>
> As a result of point 3 above, supporters of continued neonic use will
> quote this article as showing no ill effects of neonics on bees.
>
> Those wishing to support a more scientifically complete viewpoint will
> need to draw attention to points 1 and especially 2.
>
> The study is freely available at
> http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0118748
>
>
> Clement Kent
>
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