Neonicotinoids are bad for bees!

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Chevette Girl

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Looks like they've finally got some research backing it up... even if the results are from experiments with much higher doses than they'd expect bees to actually encounter.
 
Looks like they've finally got some research backing it up... even if the results are from experiments with much higher doses than they'd expect bees to actually encounter.

i'm not sure it qualifies as research.
they dose bees with a poison which is known to kill them and they find bees don't come back......well DOH !

what we don't know is if the bees are dieing from exposure to the plants which have been treated with the poison.
 
I came to the same conclusion from my own very unscientific epidemiologic research years ago. Went to Greenfest. Talked to all the bee keepers. "Traditional" bee keepers had lost 1/3 to 1/2 their hives. Organic farmers all said "We don't know what all the fuss is about. Our hives are fine."
 
How can "organic" beekeepers be so sure that their bees aren't going anywhere near anything that's been sprayed, I wonder?
 
Without being facetious (TAKeyser :p) I would say simple math based on how far they know a bee travels on average. If they are certain that all of the farmland in so many square miles around their hives are organic, I'd say it's a pretty safe bet their bees are getting organic pollen without all the nasties. Take into condition drought years, runoff, and the occasional anamoly of course...but that's for smarter people than me.
 
i'm not sure it qualifies as research.
they dose bees with a poison which is known to kill them and they find bees don't come back......well DOH !

what we don't know is if the bees are dieing from exposure to the plants which have been treated with the poison.

It is research, the same way they do research by dumping huge amounts of cosmetics and cleaning agents into rabbits' eyes to estimate what it will do in human eyes. Overdo it and see what happens, you can likely assume that smaller doses cause similar but likely less potent results.
 
Without being facetious (TAKeyser :p) I would say simple math based on how far they know a bee travels on average. If they are certain that all of the farmland in so many square miles around their hives are organic, I'd say it's a pretty safe bet their bees are getting organic pollen without all the nasties. Take into condition drought years, runoff, and the occasional anamoly of course...but that's for smarter people than me.

tiny little leashes would be much cuter
 
It is research, the same way they do research by dumping huge amounts of cosmetics and cleaning agents into rabbits' eyes to estimate what it will do in human eyes. Overdo it and see what happens, you can likely assume that smaller doses cause similar but likely less potent results.
no, not even remotely.
point is they are testing something that they already know what the result is. its a bit of pointless research.
its like putting a cosmetic that irritates peoples eyes into rabbits eyes to see if it irritates peoples eyes!

I came to the same conclusion from my own very unscientific epidemiologic research years ago. Went to Greenfest. Talked to all the bee keepers. "Traditional" bee keepers had lost 1/3 to 1/2 their hives. Organic farmers all said "We don't know what all the fuss is about. Our hives are fine."

sadly that doesn't pinpoint any cause(s). its doesn't rule out pesticides as a cause and vice versa.
theres beekeepers who do organic mite treatment methods in non-organic areas and there bees have a very good success rate.

imho the Neonicotinoids is simply an easy target. its far more likely that CCD is simply bees response to virus problems and poor bee health mostly due to poor varroa control.