Via a new, great find, Wayward Spark
- See more at: http://waywardspark.com/stimulating-honeybees-for-2014-almond-pollination/#mc_signup
- See more at: http://waywardspark.com/stimulating-honeybees-for-2014-almond-pollination/#mc_signup
Meanwhile, other reports of bees dying around Wilsonville and surrounding towns have prompted Xerces to check whether similar pesticides were used elsewhere.“My worry is that we’re going to lose sight of the real message,” said Mace Vaughan of Xerces. “I think we’re (using insecticides) all over the place, and people are doing it in their backyards without even knowing it.”
Agrichemical and pesticide makers like Monsanto, Bayer AG and Syngenta are also launching projects to study and counter colony collapse.Few deny that pesticides – particularly a class of commonly used insecticides called neonicotinoids – can be harmful to bees in the laboratory. It is unclear what threat the insecticides pose under current agricultural usage. Some scientists say habitat decline and disease-carrying parasites, such as the Varroa mite, are the chief cause of bee deaths.
One of every three bites of food we consume depends on pollination by honeybees, but these overlooked contributors to our food system are continuing to die in stubbornly perplexing ways.In 2006, beekeepers started noticing that bees were abandoning their hives, a phenomenon scientists dubbed Colony Collapse Disorder. Since then, the American bee population has dropped by an average of 30 percent every year, sending researchers, beekeepers and farmers into a head-scratching frenzy to figure out the cause.
According to Jean-Pierre Chapleau, spokesman for the Quebec Beekeepers’ Federation, beekeepers want neonicotinoid insecticides banned.“Neonicotinoid insecticides are overused,” he says. Chapleau said that beekeepers don’t blame farmers, because they can’t buy seeds that have not been treated with insecticides even if they want to.The industry says that’s not accurate.
SBA president Phil McAnespie said: “Last summer and autumn were very bad, which is obviously an issue and viruses are associated with that. “I think most of the losses are down to the weather. Obviously, there is concern about neonicotinoids and there is ongoing research into that but I don’t think they have played any major part in this [the increase in bee deaths].”
Update: Animal agriculture carnage: Third of all honeybee colonies in England did not survive winter(guardian.co.uk)Update: Bee keepers’ use of corn syrup and other honey substitutes as bee feed may be contributing to colony collapse (reuters.com)Update: 1/3 of US Honeybee Colonies Died Last Winter, Threatening US Food Supply – “We’re getting closer & closer to the point where we don’t have enough bees in this country to meet pollination demands,” said entomologist Dennis vanEngelstorp, who led survey documenting declines. (wired.com)Update: It’s confirmed: It’s getting worse. Cover of the NY Times today, edging out even the Taliban. Thing is, this threat we know how to stop.
Exposure to commonly used pesticides directly disrupts brain functioning in bees, according to new research in Nature.”
“Much discussion of the risks posed by the neonicotinoid insecticides has raised important questions of their suitability for use in our environment. However, little consideration has been given to the miticidal pesticides introduced directly into honeybee hives to protect the bees from the Varroa mite. We find that both have negative impact on honeybee brain function.”
Citation: Mary J. Palmer,Christopher Moffat, Nastja Saranzewa, Jenni Harvey, Geraldine A. Wright, Christopher N. Connolly. Cholinergic pesticides cause mushroom body neuronal inactivation in honeybees. Nature Communications. 4, Article number: 1634. doi:10.1038/ncomms2648.
Fruits and Nuts | Vegetables | Field Crops |
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