Review of Bee Health

Do Neonics Hurt Bees? Researchers and the Media Say Yes. The Data Do Not.

July 3, 2017

From: Slate.com

A new, landmark study provides plenty of useful information. If only we could interpret it accurately.

By Jon Entine

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Sure sounds like a bummer for the bees. One problem: The data in the paper (and hundreds of pages of supporting data not included but available in background form to reporters) do not support that bold conclusion. No, there is no consensus evidence that neonics are “slowly killing bees.” No, this study did not add to the evidence that neonics are driving bee health problems.

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But based on the study’s data, the headline could just as easily have read: “Landmark Study Shows Neonic Pesticides Improve Bee Health”—and it would have been equally correct. So how did so many people get this so wrong?

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