This just came in from Graham White in Scotland who has been active in the pesticide controversy over there. Just the reconsideration is a big step, and it will be difficult for them to continue to disregard the evidence. It will be interesting to see how U.S. regulators respond to this situation, I have heard nothing yet.
Here is a link to an interview I did for KGNU. This is the full version, 30 minutes, and it pretty much tells it all. If my house blows up or burns down you’ll know I’m getting their attention. Listen to the full interview and circulate it widely.
For whatever reason, much more of the major media is picking up on the two studies released to the public at noon today. This link is to a Huffington Post article, by Heather Pilatic of PANNA that gives a good overview of the issue.
Second article, A Common Pesticide Decreases Foraging Success and Survival in Honey Bees, (pdf).
Non-lethal exposure of honey bees to thiamethoxam (neonicotinoid systemic pesticide) causes high mortality due to homing failure at levels that could put a colony at risk of collapse. Simulated exposure events on free-ranging foragers labeled with an RFID tag suggest that homing is impaired by thiamethoxam intoxication. These experiments offer new insights into the consequences of common neonicotinoid pesticides used worldwide.
To make matters even worse, clothianidin is the breakdown product of thiamethoxam.
This is the first of the two papers I mentioned earlier, Neonicotinoid Pesticide Reduces Bumble Bee Colony Growth and Queen Production, (pdf).
Growing evidence for declines in bee populations has caused great concern due to the valuable ecosystem services they provide. Neonicotinoid insecticides have been implicated in these declines as they occur at trace levels in the nectar and pollen of crop plants. We exposed colonies of the bumble bee Bombus terrestris in the lab to field-realistic levels of the neonicotinoid imidacloprid, then allowed them to develop naturally under field conditions. Treated colonies had a significantly reduced growth rate and suffered an 85% reduction in production of new queens compared to control colonies. Given the scale of use of neonicotinoids, we suggest that they may be having a considerable negative impact on wild bumble bee populations across the developed world.
There are two articles that will go public at noon today. Here are quotes from each:
“Non-lethal exposure of honey bees to thiamethoxam (neonicotinoid systemic pesticide) causes high mortality due to homing failure at levels that could put a colony at risk of collapse.”
“We suggest that there is an urgent need to develop alternatives to the widespread use of neonicotinoid pesticides on flowering crops wherever possible.”
In light of the recent filing of the petition this article, EPA May Allow Extinction of Bees: Supports Bayer’s Profits from Nerve Poison, is worth a read.
A interesting read: Multiple Routes of Pesticide Exposure for Honey Bees Living Near Agricultural Fields.
Abstract:
Populations of honey bees and other pollinators have declined worldwide in recent years. A variety of stressors have been implicated as potential causes, including agricultural pesticides. Neonicotinoid insecticides, which are widely used and highly toxic to honey bees, have been found in previous analyses of honey bee pollen and comb material. However, the routes of exposure have remained largely undefined. We used LC/MS-MS to analyze samples of honey bees, pollen stored in the hive and several potential exposure routes associated with plantings of neonicotinoid treated maize. Our results demonstrate that bees are exposed to these compounds and several other agricultural pesticides in several ways throughout the foraging period …
The legal petition calling “on EPA to suspend registration of Bayer’s controversial bee-toxic pesticide, clothianidin,” was filed today and the press release is here. I thought it read well until I got to the last paragraph.
As a result of the petition, EPA may choose to suspend the use of clothianidin, or open a public comment process to evaluate the concerns voiced by beekeepers and environmental organizations.
We need to assure that the EPA is not allowed to open public comment as a dodge and an evasion. While public comment may be informative on some aspects of these issues, the status of the neonicotinoids is a legal matter, not a question of public opinion. These products not only appear to be doing great damage, but are doing so in violation of the law, and this must be addressed immediately or we may be courting an environmental disaster of monumental proportions.
Donald Studinski, a frequent contributor to the BCBA e-mail discussions, will be interviewed on Tuesday, 3/13 at 2:00pm Colorado time on The Organic View Radio Show. Don will be interviewed about his recent article in Organic Landscape Design on colony collapse, systemic pesticides and other challenges beekeepers are dealing with. If you can’t listen live, the interview will be available afterward as a pod cast.