Scientists say they have found the “missing link” in the debate over the risk of pesticides to bees. French researchers say neonicotinoid pesticides harm individual honeybees, but whole colonies are able to recover in the wild. This accounts for discrepancies between lab and field studies, they report in Royal Society journal Proceedings B. A Europe-wide […]
Tag: neonicotinoids
Petition: Don’t let Bayer overturn the ban on bee-killing pesticides
Wow. Bayer, BASF and Syngenta are suing the European Commission to overturn a ban on the pesticides that are killing millions of bees around the world. A huge public push won this landmark ban — and we can’t sit back and let Big Pesticide overturn it while the bees vanish. Last summer, 37 million bees […]
Banned pesticides pose a greater risk to bees than thought, EU experts warn
Three pesticides banned in Europe for their potential to damage bee populations could pose an even greater threat than was thought, according to a new assessment by the European Food Safety Authority (Efsa). Already proscribed for seed treatments and soil applications, the Efsa analysis says that clothianidin, imidacloprid and thiamethoxam also pose a ‘high risk’ […]
Pesticides blamed for bee declines widespread in US waterways
The most comprehensive survey to date of pollution in the US from a controversial group of pesticides has found the chemicals are widespread in streams and rivers. Though not considered a human health threat, the findings underscore the environmental ubiquity and potential for ecological harm of neonicotinoids. While neonicotinoids have been blamed for fuelling declines […]
Bees feeding on fungicide-dosed flowers develop health issues, studies say
While the relationship between insecticides and bees has made headlines – and controversy – for years, two recent studies have shown that another class of agricultural chemicals, little-appreciated but used in ever-increasing amounts, may also pose a threat to pollinators. The new studies have raised concerns about fungicides: in one, foraging on fungicide-dosed flowers harmed […]
POLL: Should wildlife-killing pesticides be banned?
The widespread use of a type of insecticide that has been blamed for honeybee deaths is linked to a marked decline in bird numbers in Europe, a report says. Imidacloprid, a neonicotinoid chemical, is widely used in agriculture to exterminate pests. Dutch scientists say their data shows that the chemical is associated with a collapse […]
Widespread impacts of neonicotinoids ‘impossible to deny’
Neonicotinoid pesticides are causing significant damage to a wide range of beneficial species and are a key factor in the decline of bees, say scientists. Researchers, who have carried out a four-year review of the literature, say the evidence of damage is now “conclusive”. The scientists say the threat to nature is the same as […]
Let me tell you about the birds, bees and neonicotinoids
The “Birds and the Bees” is an irritating song from the 1960s built upon the dreaded sex education discussion parents once had with their kids (well… not my parents). Apart from vaguely libidinal suggestions, the song hints at the connectedness of life and how we are all part of a larger whole. I can’t get […]