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Pesticides Linked to Bee Deaths Targeted for Ban in Britain

Tuesday, September 30th, 2008

(Beyond Pesticides, September 30, 2008) A group of insect-killing sprays known as neonicotinoids that are widely used in UK farming have now been banned in four other European countries because they are thought to be killing bees. Italy has just joined Germany, Slovenia and France in banning the sprays. This week the Italian government issued an immediate suspension of these sprays after they accepted that they are killing bees. Yesterday, the Britain’s Soil Association (SA) wrote to Hilary Benn, the Secretary of State for the Environment, urging him to ban the sprays in the UK with immediate effect. In the letter, SA Policy Director Peter Melchett wrote, “I fear it is typical of the current extraordinarily lax approach to pesticide regulation in the UK that we look like being one of the last of the major farming countries in the EU to wake up to the threat to our honeybees.” He also stated that the UK’s current pesticide regulation “is too dominated by scientists from one side of the debate about pesticide safety, fails to take adequate account of the public interest as against the interest of the chemical industry and some farmers, and fails adequately to apply the precautionary […]

Posted in Clothianidin, Fipronil, Imidacloprid, International, Pollinators, Thiamethoxam | 1 Comment »

Properly Managed Roadsides Support Native Bee Populations

Thursday, September 18th, 2008

(Beyond Pesticides, September 18, 2008) New research in the forthcoming issue of Biological Conservation reveals that roadsides maintained “conventionally” with the use of herbicides, non-native fast-growing grasses and frequent mowing support less native bee diversity and abundance than roadsides restored with native plants. Focus on the importance of native bees has increased in light of the recent honeybee crisis. Roadsides restored to native plants could serve as valuable protective corridors of native pollinators, which are threatened by pesticide use and habitat fragmentation. Jennifer Hopwood, PhD, the author of “The contribution of roadside grassland restorations to native bee conservation,” performed the research in Kansas, where a very small amount of unplowed prairie remains. The intensification and spread of agriculture has reduced the availability of suitable nesting sites, particularly for ground-nesting bees, and has limited food sources as a result of reduced floral diversity. Dr. Hopwood found more than twice the bee abundance in roadsides with native plants and increased bee diversity. The restored roadsides have 79 species of bees, whereas the conventionally managed roadsides only have 53. Roadsides in Kansas account for more than 650,000 acres of continuous corridors, which, if restored to native plants, could add significantly to viable bee […]

Posted in Alternatives/Organics, Pollinators, Wildlife/Endangered Sp. | No Comments »

German Coalition Sues Bayer on Bee Die-Offs

Thursday, August 28th, 2008

(Beyond Pesticides, August 28, 2008) The German Coalition Against Bayer Dangers has filed legal action in Germany against Bayer for its role in marketing insecticides that the coalition believes company officials knew were toxic to honey bees. The suit follows recent action by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) against the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to force the agency into compliance with its Freedom of Information Act request for scientific studies relating to clothianidin, one of the Bayer-manufactured pesticides tied to bee toxicity. In May, Germany suspended the approval of eight pesticides linked to a massive bee die-off. Six of the eight suspended are manufactured by Bayer, the other two by Syngenta. Two of the primary active ingredients of concern are clothianidin and imidacloprid, both in the neonicotinoid family of chemicals. They are systemic pesticides, meaning the chemical is incorporated into plant tissue and can therefore be present in pollen and nectar, which is of particular importance to bees. They also have long persistence in the soil and can be absorbed by multiple generations of crops, increasing the likelihood of exposure for bees. Attorney Harro Schultze, who represents the Coalition Against Bayer Dangers said, “The public prosecutor [in Germany] needs […]

Posted in Bayer, Clothianidin, International, Litigation, Pollinators | No Comments »

Lawsuit Challenges EPA on Pesticides Tied to Bee Colony Collapse

Wednesday, August 20th, 2008

(Beyond Pesticides, August 20, 2008) The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) filed a lawsuit on Monday to uncover critical information that the U.S. government is withholding about the risks posed by pesticides to honey bees. NRDC legal experts and a leading bee researcher are convinced that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has evidence of connections between pesticides and the mysterious honey bee die-offs reported across the country. The phenomenon has come to be called “colony collapse disorder,” or CCD, and it is already proving to have disastrous consequences for American agriculture and the $15 billion worth of crops pollinated by bees every year. EPA has failed to respond to NRDC’s Freedom of Information Act request for agency records concerning the toxicity of pesticides to bees, forcing the legal action. “Recently approved pesticides have been implicated in massive bee die-offs and are the focus of increasing scientific scrutiny,” said NRDC Senior Attorney Aaron Colangelo. “EPA should be evaluating the risks to bees before approving new pesticides, but now refuses to tell the public what it knows. Pesticide restrictions might be at the heart of the solution to this growing crisis, so why hide the information they should be using to […]

Posted in Clothianidin, Litigation, Pollinators | 2 Comments »

Germany Suspends Use of Pesticides Toxic to Bees

Friday, May 23rd, 2008

(Beyond Pesticides, May 23, 2008) In the midst of dramatically declining bee populations, the German Office for Consumer Protection and Food Safety (BVD) has suspended the approval of eight toxic insecticides believed to be responsible for the fate of these important pollinators. The suspended products include pesticides containing imidacloprid and clothianidin, the majority of which are produced by Bayer Company and have been suspected for years of contributing to declining bee populations.France banned the use of imidacloprid on corn and sunflowers in 1999, and rejected Bayer’s application for clothianidin this year. Despite the call for prohibition of imidacloprid from German apiarists and environmental groups as early as 2004, a crisis in bee populations–a reported 50-60% loss, finally forced the government to take action. The U.S., where these products are still approved for use, has also been experiencing extremely alarming rates of bee colony collapse, while areas away from cropland have thriving bee populations. Imidacloprid and clothianidin are both neonicotinoids, meaning that they target nerve cells in a similar way to nicotine, acting as neurotoxins to sucking insects such as beetles and aphids. Clothianidin was approved for use in the U.S. in 2003 as a seed treatment for corn and canola, […]

Posted in Bayer, Clothianidin, Imidacloprid, International, Pesticide Regulation, Pollinators | 5 Comments »

Independent Study Finds Bees Thrive Away From Cropland

Friday, November 16th, 2007

(Beyond Pesticides, November 16, 2007) A Pennsylvania beekeeper, John McDonald, has undertaken a study of agriculture’s effect on colony collapse disorder (CCD) of honeybees. After writing an article for the The San Francisco Chronicle that speculates on genetically modified (GM) crops’ contribution to the phenomenon, McDonald spent the last six months producing evidence to support his theory (one of many regarding the causes of CCD). In his original article, McDonald asks, “Is it not possible that while there is no lethal effect directly to the new bees [from GM crops], there might be some sublethal effect, such as immune suppression, acting as a slow killer? . . . Given that nearly every bite of food that we eat has a pollinator, the seriousness of this emerging problem could dwarf all previous food disruptions.” While CCD has been a worldwide concern, there has been minimal research in determining pesticides’ role, particularly regarding proximity to cropland. McDonald writes, “When it appeared that others weren’t interested in this experiment, I undertook to do my own investigation at my own expense.” Beginning in May, McDonald established new colonies (as his had been wiped out earlier), one in Centre County, Pennsylvania, where farming is extensive, […]

Posted in Pennsylvania, Pollinators | No Comments »

As Honeybee Die-off Continues, Scientists Investigate Pesticide Link

Tuesday, June 19th, 2007

(Beyond Pesticides, June 19, 2007) Scientists investigating a mysterious die-off of many of the nation’s honeybees are concentrating on pesticides and microorganisms as possible causes of the disorder, and some beekeepers are refusing to place their hives near chemically treated fields out of fear that pesticides may be contributing to the die-off. Scientists from Penn State University and the U.S. Department of Agriculture are leading the research into the disease, which has killed tens of thousands of bee colonies in at least 35 states. The die-off has threatened the livelihood of commercial beekeepers and strained fruit growers and other farmers who rely on bees to pollinate more than 90 flowering crops, including apples, nuts and citrus trees. After months of study, researchers cannot tie the ailment to any single factor. But scientists have zeroed in on a new, unnamed pathogen found in the dead bees, and on the role of pesticides, said Maryann Frazier, a senior extension associate in the university’s entomology department. David Hackenberg was the first beekeeper to report the disorder to Penn State last fall after losing nearly 75 percent of his 3,200 colonies. He has since rebuilt his business to 2,400 colonies, but now asks growers […]

Posted in Imidacloprid, Wildlife/Endangered Sp. | 3 Comments »

Honeybees Vanish, Threatening Crops and Livelihoods

Thursday, March 1st, 2007

(Beyond Pesticides, March 1, 2007) In 24 states throughout the country, beekeepers have been shocked to find that bees have been inexplicably disappearing at an alarming rate, according to an article in the New York Times last week. This loss of honeybees threatens not only beekeeper livelihoods but also the production of numerous crops, including California almonds, one of the nation’s most profitable crops. Although the reasons for the honeybee disappearances are unknown, pesticides may be one of the culprits. “I have never seen anything like it,” David Bradshaw, a California beekeeper, said. “Box after box after box are just empty. There’s nobody home.” Last month he discovered that half of his 100 million bees were missing. Beekeepers have fought regional bee crises before, but this is the first national affliction. Bees are flying off in search of pollen and nectar and simply never returning to their colonies. And nobody knows why. Researchers say the bees are presumably dying in the fields, perhaps becoming exhausted or simply disoriented and eventually falling victim to the cold. As researchers scramble to find answers to the syndrome they have decided to call “colony collapse disorder,” growers are becoming openly nervous about the capability […]

Posted in Bifenthrin, Chemicals, Wildlife/Endangered Sp. | 2 Comments »

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