Response to Tennekes (2018) "The Resilience of the Beehive" Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health B 20: 316–386. (2nd January 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Solomon, Keith R; Stephenson, Gladys L
• Is Part Of: Journal of toxicology and environmental health. Volume 21:Number 1(2018)
• Page Start: 5
• Page End: 7
• Publication Date: 2018-01-02
• Subjects: QWoE method -- clothianidin -- imidacloprid -- thiamethoxam -- risk assessment; Toxicology -- Periodicals; Environmental toxicology -- Periodicals; Environmental health -- Periodicals; 615.90205
• DOI: 10.1080/10937404.2018.1423801
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1093-7404

Abstract

ABSTRACT: This paper is a response to a letter from Dr. H Tennekes ("The Resilience of the Beehive" Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health B 20: 316–386). Here we emphasize that our quantitative weight of evidence analyses were focused on the level of the honeybee colony. These colony-level responses include redundancy and resiliency as well as a number of possible sublethal effects of pesticides on the colony. We also note that the literature has shown that binding of neonicotinoid insecticides to the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor is reversible. The comments in this letter do not provide reasons to change our conclusions, that, as currently used in good agricultural practices as seed-treatments, imidacloprid, clothianidin, and thiamethoxam do not present significant risks to honeybees at the level of the colony.