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http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-40382086
The most extensive study to date on neonicotinoid pesticides concludes that they harm both honeybees and wild bees. Researchers said that exposure to the chemicals left honeybee hives less likely to survive over winter, while bumblebees and solitary bees produced fewer queens.
The study spanned 2,000 hectares across the UK, Germany and Hungary and was set up to establish the "real-world" impacts of the pesticides. The results are published in Science [open, DOI: 10.1126/science.aaa1190] [DX]. Neonicotinoids were placed under a temporary ban in Europe in 2013 after concerns about their impact on bees. The European Commission told the BBC that it intends to put forward a new proposal to further restrict the use of the chemicals.
(Score: 2) by kaszz on Saturday July 01 2017, @05:22AM (9 children)
If neonicotinoids are bad. Then there's surely a lot of other stuff which is yet undiscovered and bad for bees.
Glyphosate?
(Score: 5, Insightful) by https on Saturday July 01 2017, @06:53AM (2 children)
That's like saying smoking-related diabetic nephropathy is something to worry about after someone points out that smoking is strongly correlated with heart disease. Nothing has had as big an impact on bees as the neonicotinoids. Saying "other stuff is dangerous too" is unhelpful and derailing.
Back in the 1990s I had a conversation with the president of the provincial beekeeper's association, and the correlation was, even then, seen as direct and 100%. A farmer starts using neonics, hives on their farm start dying. Maybe not all of them, but way more than average and way more than on the neonic-holdout's farms. They were freaking, because there was nothing like it ever before and nobody in government or business was taking their observations seriously.
Offended and laughing about it.
(Score: 2) by kaszz on Saturday July 01 2017, @07:43AM (1 child)
My point is that there might be more toxins worth to investigate. So as to not remove neonicotinoid just to get another worse replacement. And other toxins may show up when the worst one is removed from use.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Gaaark on Saturday July 01 2017, @01:39PM
and with the way the money grubbing goes, you have to maintain vigilance against evil... ALWAYS.
Lobbying with money should not be allowed: it mutes those without it
--- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
(Score: 3, Funny) by driverless on Saturday July 01 2017, @09:54AM
Naah, it's all OK, some schmuck speaking for Big Pharma has said theres nothing to worry about:
(Score: 3, Informative) by fraxinus-tree on Saturday July 01 2017, @01:22PM (4 children)
Some logic applied: Glyphosate is a herbicide. Bees are insects, not herbs. Neonicotinoids are insecticides, i.e. a lot better suspect.
Up to now the bees survived a lot of agricultural chemistry by either dying right away from something (so "something" is never more tried near bees) or working as usual when treated with something else (so "something else" is tried some more and then applied in a scale).
Neonicotinoids are in the middle: bees work ALMOST as usual, but in the long run some hives get irreversibly depleted of bees. Details are still not clear. The effect went unnoticed for a while, untill the substances developed a stable market. Now, they have a lot of friends (because they are effective) and debugging the problem is a lot harder.
(Score: 2) by datapharmer on Saturday July 01 2017, @04:56PM (1 child)
Debugging? I see what you did there...
(Score: 2) by fraxinus-tree on Saturday July 01 2017, @05:56PM
Pun not intended. I know, I know, but in my brain "debugging" and "bug" do not really relate to insects.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 01 2017, @05:05PM (1 child)
no, it's never been a big mystery to non-whore beekeepers. the poison industry has just suppressed and ignored the obvious evidence.
(Score: 2) by fraxinus-tree on Saturday July 01 2017, @06:08PM
I don't say it is a mystery what insecticides of almost any kind do to the bees. Solving a problem that affects a lot of parties is more complex than just nailing the substance. Do we need to kill the neonicotinoids completely? Alter their application, quarantine periods? Do we have some remedy which can be applied to the bees themselves?