EPA issues moratorium on new pesticides that kill birds and bees

[donnay]

Flashback:

Leaked document shows EPA allowed bee-toxic pesticide despite own scientists’ red flags

By Tom Philpott on 11 Dec 2010

It’s not just the State and Defense departments that are reeling this month from leaked documents. The Environmental Protection Agency now has some explaining to do, too. In place of dodgy dealings with foreign leaders, this case involves the German agrichemical giant Bayer; a pesticide with an unpronounceable name, clothianidin; and an insect species crucial to food production (as well as a food producer itself), the honeybee. And in lieu of a memo leaked to a globetrotting Australian, this one features a document delivered to a long-time Colorado beekeeper.

All of that, plus my favorite crop to fixate on: industrial corn, which blankets 88 million acres of farmland nationwide and produces a bounty of protein-rich pollen on which honeybees love to feast.

It’s The Agency Who Kicked the Beehive, as written by Jonathan Franzen!

Hive talking

An internal EPA memo released Wednesday confirms that the very agency charged with protecting the environment is ignoring the warnings of its own scientists about clothianidin, a pesticide from which Bayer racked up €183 million (about $262 million) in sales in 2009.

Clothianidin has been widely used on corn, the largest U.S. crop, since 2003. Suppliers sell seeds pre-treated with it. Like other members of the neonicotinoid family of pesticides, clothianidin gets “taken up by a plant’s vascular system and expressed through pollen and nectar,” according to Pesticide Action Network of North America (PANNA), which leaked the document along with Beyond Pesticides. That effect makes it highly toxic to a crop’s pests — and also harmful to pollen-hoarding honeybees, which have experienced mysterious annual massive die-offs (known as “colony collapse disorder”) here in the United States at least since 2006.

The colony-collapse phenomenon is complex and still not completely understood. While there appears to be no single cause for the annual die-offs, mounting evidence points to pesticides, and specifically neonicotinoids (derived from nicotine), as a key factor. And neonicotinoids are a relatively new factor in ecosystems frequented by honeybees — introduced in the late 1990s, these systemic insecticides have gained a steadily rising share of the seed-treatment market. It does not seem unfair to observe that the health of the honeybee population has steadily declined over the same period.

Continued...

 

[donnay]

Assessment of the environmental exposure of honeybees to particulate matter containing neonicotinoid insecticides coming from corn coated seeds.

Abstract

Since seed coating with neonicotinoid insecticides was introduced in the late 1990s, European beekeepers have reported severe colony losses in the period of corn sowing (spring). As a consequence, seed-coating neonicotinoid insecticides that are used worldwide on corn crops have been blamed for honeybee decline. In view of the currently increasing crop production, and also of corn as a renewable energy source, the correct use of these insecticides within sustainable agriculture is a cause of concern. In this paper, a probable--but so far underestimated--route of environmental exposure of honeybees to and intoxication with neonicotinoid insecticides, namely, the atmospheric emission of particulate matter containing the insecticide by drilling machines, has been quantitatively studied. Using optimized analytical procedures, quantitative measurements of both the emitted particulate and the consequent direct contamination of single bees approaching the drilling machine during the foraging activity have been determined. Experimental results show that the environmental release of particles containing neonicotinoids can produce high exposure levels for bees, with lethal effects compatible with colony losses phenomena observed by beekeepers.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22292570

 

[donnay]

The trouble with neonicotinoids
http://www.sciencemag.org/search?si...e=sigtrans&journalcode=scitransmed&submit=yes

 

[donnay]

Unanimous vote: Portland bans neonicotinoids to protect bees from deadly pesticide

Friday, April 03, 2015 by: Sandy J. Duncan


After the disturbing death in 2013 of tens of thousands of bees in Wilsonville, Oregon believed to be linked to a class of insecticides called neonicotinoids, Portland, Oregon has decided -- after a recent unanimous vote -- to ban use of these toxic chemicals on city-owned property. The ban does not prevent people from using neonicotinoids on private property within the city.

The City Council initially presented the proposal to bee advocates, local residents, several biologists and conservation groups -- all of whom testified in favor of the plan to ban neonicotinoids. Focus on the Wilsonville incident was frequently referenced, undoubtedly serving as grounds for the decision.

Vote prompted by earlier massive bee death incident involving neonicotinoids

When the Wilsonville incident occurred right outside a Target store, people immediately knew something was drastically wrong. "Wild bees are killed all the time in agricultural fields where nobody sees it happen," said Mace Vaughan, the Xerces Society's Pollinator Conservation Director. "The fact that this happened in an urban area is probably the only reason it came to our attention."

Although large numbers of deaths of domestic honey bees have occurred in recent years, this case was exceptional. It documented an estimated 50,000 wild bumble bees' simultaneous death, considered by experts to be an extraordinary occurrence.

In that instance, after interviewing the landscaping company that maintains the Target parking lot, Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA) investigators learned that dinotefuran, an active pesticide ingredient, had recently been used by the landscapers. Investigators confirmed that dinotefuran, sold under the trade name "Safari," contains neonicotinoids. Unfortunately, neonicotinoids have been linked to bee deaths over the years.

Continued...

 

[Natural Citizen]

I was wondering how that was going to go. Thanks, donnay. I actually forgot about it.

 

[Zippyjuan]

Survey Reports Fewer Winter Honey Bee Losses
By Kim Kaplan
May 15, 2014


WASHINGTON, May 15—Total losses of managed honey bee colonies from all causes were 23.2 percent nationwide for the 2013-2014 winter, according to the annual survey conducted by the Bee Informed Partnership and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

This represents a noticeable drop in mortality compared to the 30.5 percent loss reported for the winter of 2012-2013 and compared to an eight-year average of winter losses of 29.6 percent. Previous surveys found total colony losses of 21.9 percent in 2011-2012, 30 percent in 2010-2011, 33.8 percent in 2009-2010, about 29 percent in 2008-2009, about 36 percent in 2007-2008, and about 32 percent in 2006-2007.

Losses remain above the level that beekeepers consider economically sustainable. This year, almost two-thirds of the beekeepers responding to the survey reported losses greater than the 18.9 percent level that beekeepers say is acceptable.

http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2014/140515.htm

CCD, it is a real problem: Honey Bee Health and Colony Collapse Disorder

Winter die-offs are normal for honey bees.

http://beecare.bayer.com/media-cent...ng-honey-bees-successfully-through-the-winter

Q1: Dick, before we go into what the beekeeper can do, can you tell us how the honey bees themselves prepare for winter?

Honey bees take a long-term approach to their colony’s survival. As early as mid-August, the colony starts producing winter bees. These bees are physiologically different than summer bees and are well suited to surviving long winter periods confined to the hive. Whereas summer bees only live for 4-6 weeks, winter bees can live 4-6 months. Gradually the summer bees die and are replaced by winter bees.

Q5: Once the worst of the winter is over, how do the bees prepare for the new season?

During late winter to early spring the winter bees start dying off and the production of new generations of summer bees start slowly. As soon as the first pollen is available, the queen starts laying in earnest and three weeks later the colony should start growing quickly.

Good sun exposure is useful in the spring because it can provide adequate microclimate for cleansing flights to occur which are important to rid the colony of dysentery and Nosema.

Spring dwindling in the colonies occurs during that critical period when the winter bees are dying off and new bees are starting to emerge. If the emergence rate does not exceed the death rate of bees, then the colony will dwindle in size and if this situation continues, the whole colony could die. In a long winter colonies may not be able to produce enough bees to replace losses and this can lead to neglected brood which can also contribute to failure of the colony to reverse the dwindling effect.

Also, if there is a false start to the season, food stores may become depleted very rapidly and natural forage will not be available. This situation puts the colony at risk of starving to death.

Found the Facts Sheet interesting:

Despite ongoing reports on substantial bee losses in some regions, the overall number of honey bee colonies worldwide has increased by some 45% over the last 50 years, not decreased.

Bee losses are not a new phenomenon. Periodic increases in colony losses have been observed for centuries (such as in 1906 on the Isle of Wight, 1975 in exico “disappearing syndrome”, and during the 10th century in Ireland).

In a normal bee lifecycle during the summer season, some 2,000 worker honey bees will leave the hive to die naturally every day due to their short lifespan of only 4 – 6 weeks. The dead bees are replaced by newly-hatched bees, so maintaining the colony.

The European honey bee is not a wild animal but needs to be managed in the same way that domestic livestock such as cattle, pigs and sheep are, if they are to remain healthy.

Scientists and regulatory authorities agree that bee health is a complex issue. Several studies have also indicated that bee health may be affected by many different factors, including pests and parasites, microbial diseases, inadequate diet, bee management practices and climate change.

 

[Zippyjuan]

http://perc.org/articles/everyone-calm-down-there-no-bee-pocalypse

EVERYONE CALM DOWN, THERE IS NO “BEE-POCALYPSE”

The media is abuzz once again with stories about dying bees. According to a new report from the USDA, scientists have been unable to pinpoint the cause of colony collapse disorder (CCD), the mysterious affliction causing honey bees to disappear from their hives. Possible factors include parasites, viruses, and a form of pesticide known as neonicotinoids. Whatever the cause, the results of a recent beekeeper survey suggest that the problem is not going away. For yet another year, nearly one-third of US honey bee colonies did not make it through the winter.

Given the variety of crops that rely on honey bees for pollination, the colony collapse story is an important one. But if you were to rely on media reports alone, you might believe that honey bees are in short supply. NPR recently declared that we may have reached “a crisis point for crops.” Others warned of an impending “beepocalypse” or a “beemageddon.”

In a rush to identify the culprit of the disorder, many journalists have made exaggerated claims about the impacts of CCD. Most have uncritically accepted that continued bee losses would be a disaster for America’s food supply. Others speculate about the coming of a second “silent spring.” Worse yet, many depict beekeepers as passive, unimaginative onlookers that stand idly by as their colonies vanish.

This sensational reporting has confused rather than informed discussions over CCD. Yes, honey bees are dying in above average numbers, and it is important to uncover what’s causing the losses, but it hardly spells disaster for bees or America’s food supply.

Consider the following facts about honey bees and CCD.

For starters, US honey bee colony numbers are stable, and they have been since before CCD hit the scene in 2006. In fact, colony numbers were higher in 2010 than any year since 1999. How can this be? Commercial beekeepers, far from being passive victims, have actively rebuilt their colonies in response to increased mortality from CCD. Although average winter mortality rates have increased from around 15% before 2006 to more than 30%, beekeepers have been able to adapt to these changes and maintain colony numbers.

Rebuilding colonies is a routine part of modern beekeeping. The most common method involves splitting healthy colonies into multiple hives. The new hives, known as “nucs,” require a new queen bee, which can be purchased readily from commercial queen breeders for about $15-$25 each. Many beekeepers split their hives late in the year in anticipation of winter losses. The new hives quickly produce a new brood and often replace more bees than are lost over the winter. Other methods of rebuilding colonies include buying packaged bees (about $55 for 12,000 worker bees and a fertilized queen) or replacing the queen to improve the health of the hive.

More at link.

 

[donnay]

Winter die-offs are normal for honey bees.

http://beecare.bayer.com/media-cent...ng-honey-bees-successfully-through-the-winter








Found the Facts Sheet interesting:

So you are posting information from a Bayer stooge..Bayer being the very corporation that makes the neonicotinoids insecticide?

 

[donnay]

I was wondering how that was going to go. Thanks, donnay. I actually forgot about it.

You're welcome. I just hope other states see this and do the same.

 

[Natural Citizen]

You're welcome. I just hope other states see this and do the same.

It's geo-political now. No turning back.

 

[angelatc]

So you are posting information from a Bayer stooge..Bayer being the very corporation that makes the neonicotinoids insecticide?

So you don't have any information to actually disprove what he posted, so you just pretend it isn't right because you don't want to believe it? That's why the stuff you post should be considered trolling instead of discussion.

You "get the government to ban it!" types do not have the facts to support your position, so you'll settle for just bullying the legislation through. Got it.

 

[donnay]

It's geo-political now. No turning back.

Yes it is. The Bayer people are scurrying to do their PR damage control.

 

[Zippyjuan]

Can you address the content of either post such as the US FDA charts?

 

[donnay]

Lowe’s to Stop Selling Bee-Killing Pesticides to Protect Pollinators

Lowe’s to Stop Selling Bee-Killing Pesticides to Protect Pollinators

(Stefanie Spear) After two years of pressure by the hard-hitting campaign by Friends of the Earth and partners, Lowe’s Home Improvement announced yesterday it will begin to eliminate neonicotinoid pesticides—a leading contributor to global bee declines—from its stores. This public commitment is the most significant announcement so far for a retailer of its size.

Lowe’s said it will phase out neonicotinoids (“neonics”) as suitable alternatives become available, redouble existing integrated pest management practices for suppliers and provide additional material educating customers about pollinator health.

“We commend Lowe’s for taking a leadership position on this critical issue,” said Adam Kanzer, managing director and director of corporate engagement at Domini Social Investments. “Sales of neonic-containing products may be exacerbating a critical systemic risk—alarming declines in honeybees and wild pollinators that support our food systems. As investors and as human beings, we all depend upon pollinators. We believe Lowe’s actions will help protect an irreplaceable resource.”

Continued...

 

[Zippyjuan]

Lowe’s said it will phase out neonicotinoids (“neonics”) as suitable alternatives become available, redouble existing integrated pest management practices for suppliers and provide additional material educating customers about pollinator health.

Meaning not right away.

 

[donnay]

Meaning not right away.

It's a start and the more people are made aware of these nasty chemicals the less they will buy them.

 

[NorthCarolinaLiberty]

Meaning not right away.

There are alternatives right now.