Great Bee Article

[KONASDAD]

about losses to CCD, the economic impact and "some" data about how many are affected.
http://www.news-journalonline.com/NewsJournalOnline/News/Headlines/frtHEAD01032607.htm

[BeeLady]

One of the fellows in our bee club (Alamo Area Bee Keepers, San Antonio) is an experienced beekeeper and pesticide applicator for a large company.  He voiced an opinion in line with this article regarding the pesticide mentioned. 

I hope someone gets to the bottom of this soon.

[AndersMNelson]

This imidacloprid chemical interests me.  Research I found shows that concentrations in the nectar and pollen are too small to poison a bee.  However, they completely overlook the increase of concentration after the nectar has been converted to honey.  The half life of the chemical would explain why certain animals would resist invading the hive until a certain time has passed, assuming these invaders have a sense for recognizing the contamination.  Thoughts?

[Brian D. Bray]

Imidacloprid has been banned in France.  The action was taken after a sudden die off of bees several years ago.  The French re-examined the issue in 2006 and the ban on Imidacloprid was continues.  That from an excerpt of the April Issue of ABJ.

The other thing I find interesting is the effect of genetically altered crops that have been developed to have a insecticide like trait within the DNA of the plant.

The effect of Imidacloprid on Termites is that they cannot find their way back to their nest. 

Imidacloprid applications also seem to remain in the soil. Plants grown in the same ground where plants have been treated with the chemical also show traces of it.  Same ABJ article.

I think that back tracking the movement of the beehives that died by CCD will show exposure to both Imidacloprid and genetically altered plants.  After a winter of feeding on Imidacloprid tainted honey the bees leave on cleansing flights and never return.  Within a few days of warmer weather in early spring a hive that was strong and healthy is completely depleated of bees.

I think we should ban Imidacloprid.  At least in specific areas that have resulted in large CCD losses and see what happens over a couple of seasons.  I think the results will be very interesting.