Insecticides

Bird watchers say a cold snap in late spring left many birds without their usual food source, resulting in the deaths of many baby birds. “Baby birds and nesting birds rely on insects and other invertebrates to feed their young and as a high source of protein for nesting birds. During cold temperatures like that, the bugs go dormant, they retreat under barks of trees, they just become harder to find,” said Dawn Hewitt, editor of Bird Watcher's Digest. Lacking a proper food source, many adult birds and especially baby birds became malnourished.

Experimental evidence demonstrates that the toxicity of neonicotinoids increases with exposure time as much as with the dose, and therefore it has been described as time-cumulative toxicity. This pattern of toxicity, also found among carcinogenic compounds and other toxicants, has been ignored in ecotoxicology and risk assessments for a long time. The implications of the time-cumulative toxicity of neonicotinoids on non-target organisms of aquatic and terrestrial environments are far reaching.

In un'intervista con i sottotitoli inglesi, il tossicologo Henk Tennekes spiega le sue idee sul deragliamento della tossicologia. È dell'opinione che, in particolare, la tossicità cumulativa dei pesticidi nell'ambiente durante la procedura di autorizzazione non sia sufficientemente studiata e quindi spiega la massiccia mortalità degli insetti negli ultimi anni.

https://youtu.be/D73HFu-CjZM

En una entrevista con subtítulos en inglés, el toxicólogo Henk Tennekes explica sus ideas sobre el descarrilamiento de la toxicología. Opina que, en particular, la toxicidad acumulativa de los plaguicidas en el medio ambiente durante el procedimiento de autorización no se investiga suficientemente y, por lo tanto, explica la mortalidad masiva de insectos en los últimos años.

https://youtu.be/D73HFu-CjZM

Dans une interview avec des sous-titres anglais, le toxicologue Henk Tennekes explique ses idées sur le déraillement de la toxicologie. Il est d'avis que, notamment, la toxicité cumulée des pesticides dans l'environnement lors de la procédure d'autorisation n'est pas suffisamment étudiée et explique ainsi la mortalité massive des insectes ces dernières années.
https://youtu.be/D73HFu-CjZM

One-quarter of agricultural land in the EU will be under organic farming by the year 2030, according to the EU’s Biodiversity Strategy, which was released today, Wednesday, May 20. The aim of this, according to the strategy, is to maintain productivity; increase soil fertility and biodiversity; and reduce the footprint of food production. “Organic farming in particular holds great potential for farmers and consumers alike. The sector creates jobs and attracts young farmers,” the strategy notes.

Little is really known about the total numbers of insect species our planet holds and it is estimated that only between 10 and 20 per cent of insect and invertebrate species have been classified and named. We may well ask ourselves as to why the world’s insect population is declining with some species facing extinction?

Beekeepers around the world have been reporting the ongoing weakening of honeybee health and subsequently the increasing colony losses since 1990. However, it was not until the abrupt emergence of colony collapse disorder (CCD) in the 2000s that has raised the concern of losing this important perennial pollinator. In this report, we provide a summary of the sub-lethal effects of pesticides, in particular of neonicotinoids, on pollinators’ health from papers published in peer-review journals.

The yearly count of monarch butterflies overwintering in Mexico, released today, shows a decrease of 53% from last year's count and is well below the threshold at which government scientists predict the migration could collapse.

Scientists estimate that 6 hectares—about 15 acres—is the extinction threshold for the migratory butterflies' survival in North America. The latest count, conducted by World Wildlife Fund Mexico, found overwintering monarchs occupying just 2.83 hectares, or 7 acres.