Posted on 04/28/2013 5:07:12 AM PDT by Renfield
Europe is on the brink of a landmark ban on the world's most widely used insecticides, which have increasingly been linked to serious declines in bee numbers. Despite intense secret lobbying by British ministers and chemical companies against the ban, revealed in documents obtained by the Observer, a vote in Brussels on Monday is expected to lead to the suspension of the nerve agents.
Bees and other insects are vital for global food production as they pollinate three-quarters of all crops. The plummeting numbers of pollinators in recent years has been blamed on disease, loss of habitat and, increasingly, the near ubiquitous use of neonicotinoid pesticides.
The prospect of a ban has prompted a fierce behind-the-scenes campaign. In a letter released to the Observer under freedom of information rules, the environment secretary, Owen Paterson, told the chemicals company Syngenta last week that he was "extremely disappointed" by the European commission's proposed ban. He said that "the UK has been very active" in opposing it and "our efforts will continue and intensify in the coming days"....
(Excerpt) Read more at guardian.co.uk ...
I thought it was established that bee hive collapse was being caused by a parasite and not insecticide.
Interesting.....Bees have been on the decline for some time and a necessity in our food production.
I am very interested in the reason for the decline as I have hives on my property that belong to a local bee guy
both?
We could bring back ddt.
That might help us in Afghanistan...
Honeybees have virtually disappeared in my area, as have most wild bees. When I first moved here...in 2009....my apple trees were covered with bees when they bloomed. There were thousands of bees around. This season I saw exactly two honeybees in my orchard. The situation is dire.
A local beekeeper tells me they come and go. He says that now they’re on the rise again.
With our extreme drought here in TX, I was concerned about the local bee population. Then I discovered a huge number of Solitary Bees in my blackberry bushes, on my strawberry plants, on my plum bushes and on my fruit trees.
What found amazing was the variety, number and activity of these bees. And they don’t bring diseases back to the hive, there is none.
And they are a much better pollinator because they move from bloom to bloom more frequently than honey bees.
Here is a very early book on “The Mason-Bees” (as in Purple Orchard Mason Bees).
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/2884/2884-h/2884-h.htm
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The chemical some connect to bee decline are the neonicotinoids (Syngenta’s called Cruiser OSR). It is a systemic insecticide. Applied as seed treatment and is lethal to insects that attack the plant. Some say the poison gets into the pollen of the plant and kills the bees.
Here is another good book on Solitary Bees:
Bramble-Bees
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/3421/3421-h/3421-h.htm
I’m thinking this kind of over reaction is similar to the global warning over reaction. It will take time for the cycle to play out.
Guardian alert.
Anything even close to real science exists not in that rag.
Think NYT, but more leftist, but wiith much lower IQ (rare, but possible).
Be forewarned.
Yup, lots of native pollinators fill the niche when European honeybee populations fall.
Yes, and from my observation and reading they are more efficient pollinators too.
I read a panicky article the other day proclaiming that the fruit crop in the midwest collapsed last year due to the collapse of the honeybee populations.
The article didn’t mention the very early bloom followed by a hard freeze followed by a severe drought. Nope, it was because all the honeybees are gone.
Just like global warming.
BTW, the fruit growers are predicting a banner year this year as things appear to be working in their favor this spring.
Before these neonicotinoids were brought in during the 90s the main pesticides that affect nervous systems were organophosphates and carbamates. They were bad enough especially in killing song birds in forest spraying, supposedly protected by international treaties. The point is if bees are being decimated, it’s not just them. The American Bird Conservancy published 200 studies that show that neonicotinoids adversely affect birds and aquatic life as well and even wildlife. This is an old story that just keeps repeating itself. These companies like Shell and Bayer bring products onto the market without really knowing what their harmful effects are. Many of people who apply them don’t follow the instructions in any case or make mistakes.
Of course, on the flip side, perhaps the EPA banned something in a manufacturing chain that kept the fungi/diseases/hive infestors at bay?
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