English

Two parcels of the Lavaux vineyard area, western Switzerland, were studied to assess to which extent the widely used herbicide, glyphosate, and its metabolite aminomethylphosphonic acid (AMPA) were retained in the soil or exported to surface waters. Our results revealed elevated glyphosate and AMPA concentrations at 60 and 80 cm depth at parcel bottoms, suggesting their infiltration in the upper parts of the parcels and the presence of preferential flows in the studied parcels. Indeed, the succession of rainy days induced the gradual saturation of the soil porosity, leading to rapid infiltration through macropores, as well as surface runoff formation. Furthermore, the presence of more impervious weathered marls at 100 cm depth induced throughflows, the importance of which in the lateral transport of the herbicide molecules was determined by the slope steepness. Mobility of glyphosate and AMPA into the unsaturated zone was thus likely driven by precipitation regime and soil characteristics, such as slope, porosity structure and layer permeability discrepancy. Important rainfall events (>10 mm/day) were clearly exporting molecules from the soil top layer, as indicated by important concentrations in runoff samples. The mass balance showed that total loss (10–20%) mainly occurred through surface runoff (96%) and, to a minor extent, by throughflows in soils (4%), with subsequent exfiltration to surface waters.

Ladybirds are well known beneficial arthropods found in many habitats and ecosystems. They feed on various kinds of pest insects. In fact, coccinellids during their adult and larval stages attack on a variety of soft bodied herbivorous pests, including aphids, whiteflies, psyllids, and scales. Moreover they ingest fungal spores, pollen and nectar as complementary or even alternative foods when the preys are rare. In this study, the influence of sublethal concentrations (LC10 and LC30) of a neonicotinoid insecticide, thiamethoxam, was evaluated on life parameters of Hippodamia variegata Goeze (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae), Results showed that thiamethoxam changed life expectancy, and declined age-specific fecundity. The insecticide decreased preadult development time significantly, but it didn't have any effect on adult developmental period. Also, Eggs fecundity and fertility were not changed by treatments. According to this study, more care should be taken when thiamethoxam is used in IPM programs.

It’s always harder to take account of an absence, than it is of a presence. I say that because an absence has just made itself manifest in the natural world, which will have passed many millions of people by, but which will nonetheless have been noticed keenly by those who are attuned to it, and there are some. It is this: the swifts have gone. At least, they have from my part of the world, the south-west corner of London, and soon they will be gone from all of Britain. Swifts (Apus apus) are among the most exciting of our birds because they are the most aerial – almost their whole lives are lived on the wing, and when a young swift leaves the nest it may spend the next three years entirely in the sky, eating, drinking, sleeping and even, eventually, mating (something first observed by the parson-naturalist Gilbert White of Selborne in the 18th century).

One of the great mysteries of the insect world right now ranking up there with the loss of winged pollinators in general is what has happened to North America's native ladybug species? About 20 years ago, they started to "fly away" just like the nursery rhyme. There are still ladybugs to be found; but, the chances are they are not native ladybugs. Invasive ladybird beetles now account for two-thirds of all ladybugs in the United States and Canada. Other countries are faring no better. The UK is suffering a serious invasion of Harlequin ladybugs. These aliens are taking over and pushing out the native species there as well. Many more countries are fighting their own battle with invasive alien ladybird beetles.

Recently, legislative decisions withdrew or temporarily suspended the use of neonicotinoids and fipronil as seeds tanning in many countries because of their endocrine-disrupting activity imputable to the bees’ toxicity. In this study, the occurrence of acetamiprid, fipronil, clothianidin, flonicamid, imidacloprid, nitenpyram, thiacloprid and thiamethoxam was detected in 66 samples of commercial treated corn seeds, collected in the Italian market in the frame of ministerial institutional quality control activity. Because of the lack of a validated analytical protocol for neonicotinoid detection in seeds, a routinely suitable liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectroscopy (LC-MS/MS) analytical method was developed and statistically validated on fortified corn seeds. Survey results demonstrated that 88% of the investigated seed samples showed the presence of residues of clothianidin, fipronil, thiamethoxam and thiacloprid, either individually or simultaneously, with values that ranged from about 0.002 to 20 mg kg−1, which evidenced the alarming illicit use of these pesticides in seed treatments.

Chemical suppression of arthropod herbivores is the most common approach to plant protection. Insecticides, however, can cause unintended, adverse consequences for non-target organisms. Previous studies focused on the effects of pesticides on target and non-target pests, predatory arthropods, and concomitant ecological disruptions. Little research, however, has focused on the direct effects of insecticides on plants. Here we demonstrate that applications of neonicotinoid insecticides, one of the most important insecticide classes worldwide, suppress expression of important plant defense genes, alter levels of phytohormones involved in plant defense, and decrease plant resistance to unsusceptible herbivores, spider mites Tetranychus urticae (Acari: Tetranychidae), in multiple, distantly related crop plants. Using cotton (Gossypium hirsutum), corn (Zea mays) and tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) plants, we show that transcription of phenylalanine amonia lyase, coenzyme A ligase, trypsin protease inhibitor and chitinase are suppressed and concentrations of the phytohormone OPDA and salicylic acid were altered by neonicotinoid insecticides. Consequently, the population growth of spider mites increased from 30% to over 100% on neonicotinoid-treated plants in the greenhouse and by nearly 200% in the field experiment.

Field and tunnel cage studies were undertaken to determine the extent to which honey bees foraging on citrus blossoms were exposed to imidacloprid and its metabolites when citrus trees were treated with soil applications of the insecticide. Imidacloprid, imidacloprid olefin and 5-hydroxy imidacloprid were detected in nectar and pollen sampled from the flowers of citrus trees treated with imidacloprid up to 232 days prior to bloom. In tunnel studies, where foraging was restricted exclusively to citrus, imidacloprid residues in nectar extracted from flowers and from bee crops were similar (<10 ng mL−1); the residue levels were about threefold higher in nectar sampled from comb. Concentrations of imidacloprid in nectar were higher in trees treated with higher application rates.

Lift a rock or log anywhere in the country and chances are you'll see beetles from many species scurrying beneath it. These unassuming creatures are often overlooked as more glamorous insects hog the spotlight. But a recent study shows that the populations of an important group of beetles are dwindling, and this could end up being just as problematic as the better-publicised problems of bees and butterflies. The research, published in the Journal of Applied Ecology, found that three quarters of the beetle species examined had declined in number over the last 15 years. The abundance of half of these species had fallen at a rate equivalent to 30 per cent per decade. Scientists warn that these declines, comparable to those seen in butterflies and moths over the same period, are of serious conservation concern. The study focused on ground beetles or 'carabids', the surface-dwelling group that most people will picture if asked to imagine a beetle. Many of these species perform valuable tasks in their ecosystems that we'd miss if they disappeared.

Sharp-tailed grouse counts in the northwest, the bird's primary range in Minnesota, were similar to 2012 while counts in the east-central region declined significantly, according to Minnesota DNR officials. During the spring mating season, observers look for and count male sharptails displaying on traditional mating areas, called leks or dancing grounds. Those figures are used to estimate the state's sharp-tailed grouse population. Despite several years of declining numbers, this year's statewide average of 9.2 grouse counted per dancing ground was similar to the long-term average since 1980. The 2009 average of 13.6 was as high as during any year since 1980. During the last 25 years, the sharp-tailed grouse index has been as low as seven birds counted per dancing ground. Overall, sharptail populations appear to have declined over the long term as a result of habitat deterioration. In recent years, the DNR has increased prescribed burning and shearing that keep trees from overtaking the open brush lands that sharp-tailed grouse (Tympanuchus phasianellus, previously: Tetrao phasianellus) need to thrive.

Scientists at the University of Hawaii say the bird's population plunged 63 percent from 2001 to 2007. Part of the problem is that only about a quarter of the Creepers (Oreomystis mana) are female, and scientists say there are not enough females to keep the species thriving. The Creepers are found in the southern portion of the Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge on the island of Hawaii. One of the researchers, Dr. Leonard Freed, says the bird's downfall can be traced to another bird – the Japanese White Eye. "When we looked at the Creeper, we suspected that female Creepers might be especially susceptible to competition with White Eyes," Dr. Freed explains. The Hawaii Creeper is an important insect predator, helping to control the bug population. There may be fewer than 1,000 left on the Big Island.