BEE BAR
Posted on 10/01/2008 1:47:28 PM PDT by Scythian
(NaturalNews) German government researchers have concluded that a bestselling Bayer pesticide is responsible for the recent massive die-off of honeybees across the country's Baden-Württemberg region. In response, the government has banned an entire family of pesticides, fueling accusations that pesticides may be responsible for the current worldwide epidemic of honeybee die-offs.
Researchers found buildup of the pesticide clothianidin in the tissues of 99 percent of dead bees in Baden-Württemberg state. The German Research Center for Cultivated Plants concluded that nearly 97 percent of honeybee deaths had been caused directly by contact with the insecticide.
"It can unequivocally be concluded that a poisoning of the bees is due to the rub-off of the pesticide ingredient clothianidin from corn seeds," said the federal agricultural research agency, the Julius Kuehn Institute.
The pesticide was applied to rapeseed and sweet corn seeds along the Rhine River Valley, which borders Baden-Württemberg to the west and south.
"Beekeepers in the region started finding piles of dead bees at the entrance of hives in early May, right around the time corn seeding takes place," said Walter Haefeker, president of the European Professional Beekeepers Association.
A total of two-thirds of all bees in the entire state are believed to have been killed by the chemical.
"It's a real bee emergency," said Manfred Hederer, president of the German Professional Beekeepers' Association. "Fifty to 60 percent of the bees have died on average, and some beekeepers have lost all their hives."
Clothianidin, marketed in Europe under the brand name Poncho, is a widely used insecticide in the neonicotinoid family. Like all neonicotinoids, it is a systemic pesticide that is applied to the seeds of plants and then spreads itself throughout all plant tissues. Based on nicotine, the neonicotinoids function as neurotoxins that attack the nervous systems of insects such as honeybees.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has classified clothianidin as "highly toxic" to honeybees. The chemical was approved for U.S. use in 2003 and German use in 2004.
Clothianidin manufacturer Bayer CropScience, a subsidiary of chemical giant Bayer, blamed the honeybee deaths on incorrect application of the pesticide. Before seeds are sprayed, a fixative should be applied to keep the poison from spreading into the rest of the environment. In the current situation, Bayer says, the fixative was not applied and clothianidin spread into the air.
But beekeepers and pesticide critics rejected this explanation, calling for Germany to follow France's footsteps in banning the chemical - and indeed, all neonicotinoids.
"We have been pointing out the risks of neonicotinoids for almost 10 years now," said Philipp Mimkes, spokesman for the Coalition Against Bayer Dangers. "This proves without a doubt that the chemicals can come into contact with bees and kill them. These pesticides shouldn't be on the market."
While stopping short of a total ban, the German Federal Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety acted quickly upon release of the study data, placing a provisional ban upon all seven pesticides in the neonicotinoid family. These chemicals may not be used in Germany until the manufacturers can supply enough data to convince the government that they are safe.
The seven provisionally banned pesticides are the clothianidin-based brands Poncho and Elado; the imidacloprid-based brands Antarc, Chinook and Faibell; methiocarb-based Mesurol; and thiamethoxam-based Cruiser
Six of the seven products are made by Bayer, while Mesurol is manufactured by Syngenta.
Bayer's neonicotinoids have been blamed for killing honeybees before, most notably in France. There the company's best-selling pesticide, imidacloprid, was banned from use on sunflower seeds in 1999 after being blamed for killing off a third of the country's honeybees. In 2004, France extended the ban to sweet corn seeds. The government rejected Bayer's application for clothianidin use in France only a few months ago.
In North Dakota, a group of beekeepers is suing Bayer, alleging that imidacloprid was responsible for Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) in that state in 1995. One-third of North Dakota honeybees died that year after imidacloprid was applied to rapeseed there.
Imidacloprid is marketed in France under the brand name Gaucho, but is also sold as Admire, Advantage, Confidor, Hachikusan, Kohinor, Merit, Premise, Prothor, and Winner.
Around the world, honeybee stocks are in decline, which scientists have warned could have devastating impacts on global food supplies. A total of 80 percent of world food crops are primarily or exclusively pollinated by honeybees, amounting to 130 crops and $15 billion worth of food each year in the United States alone.
Yet two million honeybee colonies have been lost in the United States in recent years, with massive dieoffs also reported across Europe and in Taiwan, where 10 million bees recently disappeared over the course of only two weeks.
"If nothing is done about it, the [British] honeybee population could be wiped out in 10 years," warned U.K. Farming Minister Lord Rooker in 2007.
While in many cases bees have actually been found dead, as in the Baden-Württemberg incident, beekeepers have been particularly alarmed by CCD, in which the bees simply vanish, leaving empty hives behind them.
Neonicotinoid pesticides have been suggested as a possible cause of CCD, with advocates of this theory noting that since the pesticide spreads through all plant tissues, bees might be exposed through the pollen of treated plants. At least one study concluded that neonicotinoids are likely to become concentrated in bee hives in high levels, transported by contaminated pollen.
A number of studies have found that in low doses, neonicotinoids produce symptoms consistent with CCD. Termites exposed to imidacloprid experienced disorientation and immune system failure, while bees exposed to low levels of the chemical experienced impaired communication, homing and foraging ability, flight activity, and olfactory discrimination and learning.
Sources for this story include: www.guardian.co.uk. pubs.acs.org, www.allheadlinenews.com.
A moose bit my sister, once.
http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=97813
“...They work more than ninety food crops.”
“Bees don't just pollinate your food, they pollinate food for your food. Alfalfa and clover, both cattle feed, need to be pollinated in order to produce seeds for the next year's crop. Bees, then, are an important link in dairy and beef production.”
“Bees get ready for winter by storing food, kicking out male bees, and sealing the hive.”
(LOL! That's what it says. Can any of you men relate?)
Then it goes on to say, “Male bees don't do any work, and so they are a drain on resources.”
(Are male bees voting for Obama?)
But seriously, here is another good article:
“Declining bee population threatens major growers”
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6299480
I personally don't want to have to eat food that tastes like cardboard if the honeybees disappear. I hope they solve it soon.
BEE BAR
Let me know when bees fall dead after visiting a tobacco field.
Moderation, yes, but meanwhile organic stuff plain tastes better, too, and that’s enough to warrant a modest price increment for the chef in me. But each of us is different, with different sensitivities. I have a neurological problem that makes me more sensitive to insecticides than most folks, so there’s another reason. If non-organic works for you, great.
Thanks for the alert on this one.
I cross posted it to the food thread.
This entire issue with this thread and bees, is caused by seed treatments to increase the yields on corn and canola. Two crops.....that don't need bees, yet are affecting bees to make goofy oil that has no cholesterol and methanol for cars.
I think it could be said that we have hurt the Ag sector to make the enviro's happy.
Can we agree on that? perhaps.....Is there a political side to this that we may be missing?
LOL!
Several months later I noticed they were back... but they really challenge me if I get too near the hives. So.... I just watch them do their thing and leave them alone. When I feed them in winter... I wait until after sunset. It's very time-consuming to keep up with them properly....and I can't do that right now with my schedule. I'd love to steal some honey...but I've forgotten what/when/how to do all of that. One of these days I'll break out all the books and try my hand again. :)
I forget to share that there are some really potent garlic sprays that work too. We have tons of humming birds so I am very careful of what I use.
Also...I would never allow the traps to get close to plants I don’t want the beetles on.
bump
The data, if true, certainly suggest it.
In any event, it is certainly unclear whether it is the manufacturer or the end-users who are at fault.
I can agree with all that.
That's the problem. Plants almost everywhere. Or too close to the street, etc. They work best in almost full sun. And you don't want them to fly over any plants they like to get to the traps. The roof might work or high in a tree they don't like, but can't get up there.
Anyway, one lady was so swarmed in central IL she couldn't go outside for awhile, heard them banging against the house. There was a newspaper article about the invasion and her. She claimed to have made a homebrew of lemon juice, vinegar, and dish soap (prob dil w/water). A couple of us tried to call her and find out the proportions but no luck. I thought I might guess and do an experiment, maybe 1/2 cup to a gallon.
I'll freepmail you a copy of the article I saved but the formatting will be bad.
I don't know if garlic would work or not. I've got that liquid fence stuff but think no. Some people blend up dead beetle cocktail and spray that, too gross for me.
If you read anything that sounds easy, fairly safe and promising, please ping me. Even laying down milky spore won't be all that easy for me, terrace, may have to do it twice or more to get it going. They will still come in from neighbors who don't do it.
Not enough people care yet in my community for there to be an effort on that front. One lady in TN trapped enough over the years, she not only helped farmers close by (they like corn silk) but this year she hardly had any. I've got instructions for a modified trap. The bags don't work that great and nasty to empty and change; bait part works several weeks.
Yes, it’s a beautiful day here in Sacramento. The edge is off of the heat, the birds are singing and life is good. — watching the hummingbirds drink out of our backyard fountain, hearing a couple of frogs croaking from my potted plants on the patio and watching the horses run the pasture.
Re the garden, can’t wait to get out and plant my tulip bulbs when it really cools off here. Getting some rain tomorrow, and so the wet season begins.
We are in a rural area of Sacramento, so we can get some nasty bugs — white flies and black widow spiders. My dogs each gotten bitten by a black widow once while sitting out in the orchard, and for one of them it was pretty serious. So, while I look for the natural choice when I can, there are limits. I do have the perimeter of my house sprayed to stop bugs from entering the house.
Usually, when I have a basic garden problem pest, I try to find a natural solution — lady bugs & the like. Second line of defense is my grandmother’s “homemade insecticide” — cooled water from boiled tobacco with a couple drops of dishwashing liquid in it, delivered from a spray bottle. It’s only when all those things have been defeated that I pull out “the big guns” — commercial insecticide. And with those white flies, I would have nuked them if I could!
Hope that all is well with you, too, on our beautiful, beloved coast!
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