Honeybees

The evaluation of pesticide side-effects on honeybees is hampered by a lack of colony-level bioassays that not only are sensitive to physiological changes, but also allow predictions about the consequences of exposure for longer-term colony productivity and survival. Here we measured 28 biometrical, biochemical and behavioural indicators in a field study with 63 colonies and 3 apiaries. Colonies were stressed in early summer by feeding them for five days with either the carbamate growth regulator fenoxycarb or the neurotoxic neonicotinoid imidacloprid, or left untreated.

Possiamo immaginare un mondo senza miele? No affatto! Eppure potrebbe accadere perchè da oggi le api sono state chiamate a rischio estinzione. E se le api venissero finalmente protette non sarebbe una splendida notizia? Questo si accadrà, ma negli Stati Uniti in quanto per la prima volta sono state dichiarate ufficialmente a rischio di estinzione. Gli apicoltori degli Stati Uniti hanno perso circa il 40% delle loro colonie di api nel solo 2015, come emerso da una recente indagine. Solo questo dato dovrebbe farci riflettere sull’effettiva situazione di pericolo delle api.

In Deutschland gibt es immer weniger Bienen, immer weniger Hummeln, immer weniger Schmetterlinge. Überhaupt gibt es immer weniger Insekten! Das haben Forscher aus Krefeld herausgefunden. Das ist eine Stadt im Bundesland Nordrhein-Westfalen. 25 Jahre lang haben die Forscher an bestimmten Orten Insekten gesammelt, ihre Art bestimmt und die Tiere gewogen. Das Ergebnis der Forscher: In dieser Zeit stellten sie einen Rückgang an Insekten von bis zu 80 Prozent fest. Gesammelt haben die Forscher vor allem in Nordrhein-Westfalen.

On Friday, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service gave seven species of yellow-faced bees that are native to Hawaii islands an endangered status. The Xerces Society, the conservation group that advocated for the bees' new designation, said that these are the first bees in the country to be included in the endangered species list. Once among the most populous species of insects in Hawaii, the yellow-faced bees experienced a sharp drop in number over the past century. The population decline is blamed on humans destroying bee habitats and using crop dusting that are toxic to the pollinators.

Butterflies have joined the ranks of honeybees, bumblebees, moths and other insects that may be feeling the effects of the controversial neonicitinoid insecticides. UK researchers have found that even insects which do not pollinate oilseed rape may be harmed by the chemicals. Neonicotinoids - or neonics for short - are insecticides similar to nicotine, acting on the central nervous system to paralyse insects. One of them, imidacloprid, is the most widely used insecticide in the world.

Les chercheurs de l'Institut national de recherche agronomique (Inra) démontrent, dans une nouvelle étude, que l'exposition des mâles d'abeille au pesticide fipronil "affecte indirectement la capacité de reproduction des reines". Leurs résultats sont parus le 23 août dernier dans "Scientific Reports". Pour rappel, le fipronil appartient à la famille chimique des phénylpyrazoles. Le 31 décembre 2013, la Commission européenne avait interdit pendant deux ans son usage, pour le traitement des semences de tournesol et de maïs dans l'Union européenne.

Attached is a PDF slideshow, of the Keynote/ Powerpoint the British environmentalist and beekeeper Graham White presented in California to the American Beekeepers Federation in 2014. He also gave the same slideshow and talk to the directors of the Sierra Club - the most influential environmental NGO in the USA. This was presented as a Webcast from the Pesticide Research Institute in Berkeley to several hundred beekeepers who logged in to their website from all over the States.
Youtube:

Les chercheurs de l'Inra montrent aujourd'hui que l'exposition chronique et indirecte à une dose très faible d'un pesticide néonicotinoïde, ainsi que l'infection par un parasite commun des abeilles, affecte très fortement la survie des reines en conditions naturelles et modifie leur physiologie. L'interaction entre l'imidaclopride et Nosema cerana est encore plus néfaste sur les reines que chaque stress pris séparément. Ces résultats sont publiés le 31 août 2016 dans Scientific Reports.

Queen bees exposed to nicotine-based insecticides become less active and lay fewer eggs, a University of Minnesota study released Friday shows. It is an important finding in the growing understanding of why bee populations are in decline. The study, published in the journal Scientific Reports, fills in some gaps in that knowledge.