[QUOTE=gavin;3306]Eric, there is no need for that. I know that there is quite a lot of pollen in honey. I also know that in the pollen loads honeybees bring back there are *some* (a few) airborne pollen grains including grass and nettle. I've seen them and counted them and reported on them. Presumably they get into the honey too.
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Hi Gavin
Of course you did! Just that your phraseology in this instance was nearly as bad as the Daily Mail journalese that took such a pounding early on!
This thread was short and sharp and fun! I hope poor Gloria does not get wind of it Despite being much like the rest of us beekeepers – ordinary folk think we are bunch of nuts! Gloria looks too be extremely well qualified, is obviously highly intelligent and has erudite connections – viz: Among her legion of fans is Dr Milton Wainwright, senior lecturer in molecular biology at Sheffield University, author of an acclaimed book on the history of penicillin – and also of the intro to Gloria’s honey tome. (More a eulogy, actually.)
She seems to have been Waxing strong as well Lady Wax Chandler, indeed, and to boot she also donates to childrens’ charities. Some lady!
I have deemed it an honour to have had the task of defending her against the slings and arrows of the dreadful real world mentioned by a few thread contributors.
Bye the bye, did you ever contact Peter about the DVD – to listen to Jeff Pettis and van Engelsdorp’s magic words condemning imidacloprid, after they proved, by repeating the procedures carried out by the French microbiologists work pasted below, in whole colony trials that the substance, at homeopathic(untraceable) levels in conjunction with Nosema killed bee colonies?
Invoking the Precautionary Principle would be good!
Best regards
Eric
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Interactions between Nosema microspores and a neonicotinoid weaken honeybees (Apis mellifera).
Alaux C, Brunet JL, Dussaubat C, Mondet F, Tchamitchan S, Cousin M, Brillard J, Baldy A, Belzunces LP, Le Conte Y.
INRA, UMR 406 Abeilles et Environnement, Laboratoire Biologie et Protection de l'abeille, Site Agroparc, 84914 Avignon, France. cedric.alaux@avignon.inra.fr
Abstract
Global pollinators, like honeybees, are declining in abundance and diversity, which can adversely affect natural ecosystems and agriculture. Therefore, we tested the current hypotheses describing honeybee losses as a multifactorial syndrome, by investigating integrative effects of an infectious organism and an insecticide on honeybee health. We demonstrated that the interaction between the microsporidia Nosema and a neonicotinoid (imidacloprid) significantly weakened honeybees. In the short term, the combination of both agents caused the highest individual mortality rates and energetic stress. By quantifying the strength of immunity at both the individual and social levels, we showed that neither the haemocyte number nor the phenoloxidase activity of individuals was affected by the different treatments. However, the activity of glucose oxidase, enabling bees to sterilize colony and brood food, was significantly decreased only by the combination of both factors compared with control, Nosema or imidacloprid groups, suggesting a synergistic interaction and in the long term a higher susceptibility of the colony to pathogens. This provides the first evidences that interaction between an infectious organism and a chemical can also threaten pollinators, interactions that are widely used to eliminate insect pests in integrative pest management.
PMID: 20050872 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]PMCID: PMC2847190Free PMC Article
[I've moved this from where it was originally posted in the hope of keeping this kind of discussion in one place. You can find the full paper here:
http://sd-1.archive-host.com/membres...al_EM_2009.pdf
G.]
