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.
Exactly right !!! Bingo, all the nonsense these folks have an agenda aside, you couldn’t have said it better.
Our honey bees are dying off man, ask battle axe, one of our members, anyway ...
How did plants get pollinated before the arrival of european honey bees?
They first came for the bees and I said nothing ...
“I live in California and I used to have tons of bees in my garden. I love them, they pollinate and make my flowers pretty. I barely see them anymore. My garden was a bit of a dud this year. Wonder if there is any connection.”
I’ve thought the same. I have a jug of Bayer insecticide and will check to see if it has this ingredient.
Same here. I have been trying to get some stuff to grow without success and no bees around.
THIS IS A MAJOR CRISIS THAT COULD AFFECT THE WHOLE US ECONOMY
THIS COULD HAVE A DEVESTATING EFFECT ON OUR CHILDREN, AND OUR CHILDRENS CHILDREN.
WE NEED 700 TRILLION HONEYBEE BAILOUT PROGRAM TO BE PAID FOR BY A NEW TAX ON THOSE WHO CAN AFFORD IT MOST.
“The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has classified clothianidin as “highly toxic” to honeybees.”
I’m curious why it was approved. If you kill honeybees you do a lot of damage to agriculture.
Build your own bee hive and raise them! (good for the honey!!!)
I don’t buy into this article...
I think the lack of bees has to do with the weakening of our magnetic field that I have been reading about...
IS that also the cause for the bat die offs too?
Sounds just like the Pubs trying to get the dems to get Fannie and Freddie in line. Nothing happens until there is a disaster.
I didn’t need a government sponsored study to tell me bee populations have been decreasing for 10 years. Half the problem is that beekeepers are very hard people to find these days. We called 5 different people to come get a full hive of great honey producers, not one would come. In the end the hive was exterminated, apparently apartment people are afraid of a few honey bees around them......city dinks that they are.
I would but no room. Small yard.
At first glance, I thought the article said we were seeing the end of German beer... thankfully it’s just German BEES.
I was stung by a bee last Thursday. Sum-a-beech hurt like crazy! The top of my hand (where the crime was committed) was swollen for 4 days. Two of my boys were stung within the last 3 weeks, as was my mother. I think they have all moved to Minnesota.
Spray this sh!t, uh, stuff everywhere killer bees are a problem.
Dose the calm domesticated European-bee hives with the antidote.
The response from Bayer CropScience:
It would be more helpful if they explained the improper application factors in more detail, so others could avoid this in the future.
Termites exposed to imidacloprid experienced disorientation and immune system failure.
Living in Houston, I need 5 gallons of imidacloprid.
This is good news if they have discovered the cause of the bee dieoffs. It is easily fixed!
...and you too can watch your hives die as so many have in my part of these United States.
More detailed info here:
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