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  • From: Blair Christian <blair.christian AT gmail.com>
  • To: OCBA <ocba AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [ocba] BEE Protective this Earth Day
  • Date: Fri, 26 Apr 2013 14:34:00 -0400

I would like to say that I'm thankful we have a resource like Lewis
available to us. He has a lot of experience with the "dark side" of
big ag and bees-- he has been involved with controlled experiments
where neonics are applied to bees in different situations (restrained
bees; fed via syrup in hive; exposed to sprayed crops) with different
doses; he has collected nectar and pollen from monoculture pollination
sites to analyze for the presence and quantity of neonics and other
nasty things (like fungicides)- it's a real privilege to have somebody
who manages 250 colonies to give us advice, especially when our apiary
sizes are usually 1-3 hives and we don't have any reference for what's
normal...

There will always be bee kills, from boutique organic pesticides like
neem oil to mass produced pesticides from Bayer and other big ag
companies. I think Lewis' point is that we should use science to
determine which are the relevant threats to (1) our own bees and (2)
to not focus too much on news reports about US and worldwide
beekeeping problems. There are a lot of very good scientists out
there working independently (Randy Oliver) and commercially to
diagnose the current bee health issues. There's no answer yet because
it's not an easy problem. For those of you interested in reading
about bees doing just fine in the presence of neonics (Australia,
where there are no Varroa yet; Canada), or doing badly with no neonics
I invite you to subscribe to the BEE-L listserv and to read American
Bee Journal, Bee Culture, and Randy Oliver's research papers on
scientificbeekeeping.com. The current BEE-L list is talking about
how the doses of one pesticide on different crops vary and how the
level of exposure to the bees might vary; I was just reading a paper
about Brett Adee (who Marty was recently praising) and a research he
let be performed on his bees:
http://derisilab.ucsf.edu/pdfs/Honeybeepaper.pdf
It's a great article about RNA viruses and bees, specifically it's
looking at Nosema ceranae, which is something to keep an eye out for
if your Varroa levels are under control...

So I'm very grateful to have Lewis and other folks from big ag in our
network who can address our issues honestly and tell us about their
data in as transparent a way as possible to make both beekeeping and
the environment safer to more and more non-destructive organisms. I'm
under no illusion it will be easy or without problems.

Best,
Blair


On Thu, Apr 25, 2013 at 5:09 PM, Lewis Cauble <lewis AT hivebody.com> wrote:
> Annallys,
>
> Let's get one thing straight right now. I do not work for nor have I ever
> worked for a company that produces or markets this or any other chemical. I
> work for an independent contract research organization. I do not get paid
> based on how many tons of neonics (or any other pesticide or GMO seed) are
> sold. I get paid to conduct agronomic research on seeds and pesticides. I
> get paid to look at the effects of pesticides on bees in the lab and in the
> field. I get paid to look at residue levels in nectar and pollen. I get
> paid to manage 250 colonies. My pay is not based on the outcome of any
> study. I do not have a dog in this fight as you seem to believe. Yes...I do
> work with pesticides every day in a research setting. No...I do not produce
> or sell them.
>
>
>
> As far as I can tell, I did not in any way disparage your post or the goals
> of the organization in your post. It certainly was not my intent. It only
> brought to my mind my frustration with the amount of tunnel vision that I
> perceive regarding the neonics in the media and among beekeepers. I believe
> fear is an accurate description and I stand by my choice of that word.
>
>
>
> My goal as a member of the beekeeping community is to share what I believe
> to be true with those who are interested. I am fully aware that many are
> not interested. Here is some of what I believe to be true:
>
>
>
> 1. Varroa is by far the number one threat to bee health.
>
> 2. Beekeepers should spend the bulk of their worrying energy worrying about
> things that are within their control; Varroa, nutrition, disease
> identification/prevention, and quality queens.
>
> 3. I believe pesticides are here to stay, and no amount of rock throwing or
> online petition signing is going to significantly change that.
>
> 4. Educating folks on proper pesticide use and alternatives to pesticides
> is important.
>
>
>
>
>
> Lewis
>
>
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