Authors’ response on Hoppe et al. (2015) “Effects of a neonicotinoid pesticide on honey bee colonies: a response to the field study by Pilling et al. (2013)”. Environ Sci Eur (2015) 27–28

The published Commentary by Hoppe et al. (Environ Sci Eur 27-28, 2015) makes a number of strong criticisms of Pilling et al. (PLoS One 8:e77193, 2013), which this authors' response will show are either wrong, inaccurate or misleading. A selection of these misrepresentations include a claim that technical thiamethoxam was used rather than the commercial product. This is not true. Pilling et al. (PLoS One 8:e77193, 2013) clearly state that formulated commercial products were used which also included fungicides. It is claimed that there was a failure to quantify colony losses in winter. Again this is not true. These data were readily extractable from the original paper. It is claimed that 70 % of the colonies did not survive. For a multiple year study this is very misleading. The annual colony loss rate was 14.8 % for treated colonies and 16 % for control colonies, well within background colony loss rates reported by the EC Epilobee EU monitoring programme. Concerns are also raised regarding the PLOS One reviewing process. The reality is that Pilling et al. (PLoS One 8:e77193, 2013) was extensively reviewed by five referees during the original review process, followed by a second post-publication editorial review. These inaccurate and misleading statements are then used to infer that the data, methodology and conclusions of low risk to honeybees from Pilling et al. (PLoS One 8:e77193, 2013) are untruthful and misleading. This inference is both absolutely untrue and inappropriate. Pilling et al.'s (PLoS One 8:e77193, 2013) paper is a summary of one the most comprehensive set of field studies ever conducted on honeybees, a fact recognised within both the second review by PLOS One and within the published EFSA Evaluation of Thiamethoxam.