Honeybees

De vaste commissie voor Economische Zaken, Landbouw en Innovatie en de vaste commissie voor Infrastructuur en Milieu hebben op 10 oktober 2012 overleg gevoerd met staatssecretaris Atsma van Infrastructuur en Milieu en staatssecretaris Bleker van Economische Zaken, Landbouw en Innovatie over gewasbeschermingsmiddelen (verslag in de bijlage).

The Environmental Audit Committee held its first and second public evidence hearings of its inquiry, Insects and Insecticides. In the morning evidence session, the Committee identified the key issues in relation to insects and insecticides with campaigners and farmers’ representatives. Topics for discussion included the current regulatory regime for pesticides, the decline of insect pollinators in the UK, organic alternatives to pesticides and the practical consequences of a hypothetical ban on the use of neonicotinoid insecticides. In the afternoon session, the Committee explored the latest scientific research on insects and insecticides with a panel of scientists who are currently active in the field. This session focused on the latest research on the effect of neonicotinoid insecticides on bees.
Transcripts :
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201213/cmselect/cmenvaud/c66…
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201213/cmselect/cmenvaud/c66…
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201213/cmselect/cmenvaud/c66…

Written evidence:
http://t.co/R6QiY40E

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De Rechtbank in Zutphen heeft de vergunning voor een UMTS-mast vernietigd omdat in de nabijheid bijenkasten staan. Op 9 november 2010 heeft de gemeente Winterswijk aan KPN ontheffing verleend voor de bouw van een UMTS-opstelpunt in de gemeente Winterswijk. Vijf omwonenden hebben tegen die vergunning bezwaar en beroep ingesteld. Volgens de rechtbank heeft de gemeente onvoldoende motivering aangeleverd voor haar bewering dat er geen effecten van deze UMTS-mast te verwachten zijn.

The Center for Food Safety last week asked EPA in a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to release all agency memos, emails, incident reports and other documentation on bee kills and other incidents allegedly linked to exposure to the neonicotinoid pesticide imidacloprid. The Washington, D.C.-based advocacy group, in a FOIA request dated Nov. 1, asks for internal EPA correspondence and documentation regarding "bee mortality, beneficial insect mortality, threatened or endangered species mortality, hive loss, excess disease or other incidents" that are related to chronic or acute exposure to imidacloprid, which is primarily manufactured by Bayer CropScience.

GE food should have been regulated in the same way as drugs. As it is, GE crop consumption is a vast, uncontrolled experiment, with no oversight, no monitoring for adverse reactions, and no real way to assess liability. Gene flow and genetic pollution can be tracked only after it occurs. If we remember the problems with Starlink corn, the whole industry is one catastrophe away from total meltdown. If we overlook safety and environmental issues, GE crops have not been used wisely. Monolithic plantings of one cultivar increase the potential for total crop failure. Relying almost entirely on glyphosate and BT for pest management has increased pest resistance, and current GE crops may become ineffective. Seed monopolies are also causing farmers to lose their independence. We should learn from the pesticide treadmills of the past. GE crops that tolerate several herbicides are not the answer to resistant weeds. The result will be massive applications of herbicides that are more toxic than glyphosate. Weeds will become resistant to multiple herbicides. The answer is a return to IPM principles that allow both sustainable crop production and environmental protection. For now, the only sure way to avoid eating GE food is to buy organic products. Maybe if more people vote in the marketplace, producers will make some changes.

Researchers with the Canadian Pollination Initiative (NSERC-CANPOLIN) mined numerous insect collections in Canada and the United States looking for information on the distribution and abundance of 21 eastern species of bumble bees. "It is really difficult to know if a species is in trouble unless you have good historical data for comparison. This is the first time data gathered from historical collections has been used to assess the current status of Nearctic bees across their entire native range," says Sheila Colla, a recent PhD graduate from York University who led the study. The study was based on 44,797 bee specimens collected between 1864 and 2009. Researchers used both taxonomic and geographic data found in collection records to measure the persistence and relative abundance of each species across the full range of their distribution. Of the 11 species found to be in decline, four are deemed "vulnerable", six are considered "endangered" and one is "critically endangered".

Retailers have clarified their stance on pesticide use after new research revealed a combination of two commonly used products harmed bumblebee populations. The Co-operative Group said imidacloprid was a neonicotinoid that was on its “prohibited list”, which applied to fresh and frozen produce sold in store and grown on its farms. Morrisons said it understood the importance of encouraging healthy bee populations in the UK and screened all pesticides used by its suppliers to ensure they did not have an adverse effect on bees. Tesco, meanwhile, said it did not use the two pesticides in combination on any “flowering crops” such as apples or pears in the UK. Sainsbury’s did not respond to specific questions over whether its suppliers were permitted to use the two pesticides mentioned in the study. A spokeswoman, however, said: “Our pesticide policy requires our suppliers to minimise their use of pesticides and employ Integrated Crop Management techniques.”

Sprichwörtlich fleißig sind sie, Bestäuber, Honigproduzenten, aber auch gefährliche Stecher und nicht zuletzt Teil eines faszinierenden Organismus in ihrem jeweiligen Volk: Doch seit einigen Jahren sterben die Bienen. Weltweit. Pestizide? Transportbedingungen? Vermischung der Arten? Als Spross einer Imkerfamilie hat sich der Schweizer Filmemacher Markus Imhoof auf die Spuren heutiger Bienenhaltung gemacht. Beeindruckende Bilder aus dem Inneren der Wabe, intime Erinnerungen an den Großvater und Großimker und die weltumspannende Geschichte von den Lebens- und Arbeitsbedingungen einer Tierart: Auf seiner Reise von der Schweiz über Österreich nach Nordamerika, Mexiko, China und Australien begegnet Imhoof Liebhaberei und Massenhaltung, Selbstversorgung und Big Business – und dem, was bleibt, wenn die Bienen verschwunden sind. Denn in China ist das Bienensterben vollendet, hier muss die Bestäubungsarbeit auf den Plantagen mittlerweile von Menschenhand verrichtet werden.

For bees on Chatham Island distance has been, in one respect, an advantage (Tyranny of Distance, October 27). It has kept at bay the Varroa mite which is their greatest threat on the mainland. But until the efforts four years ago of two energetic and devoted beekeepers, bees were a neglected and insignificant part of the island’s ecosystem. Michele Andersen and Mana Cracknell have established an apiary of about 100 hives at Kaingaroa, a tiny settlement in the island’s northern corner. Honey is a side production, their main objectives being pasture improvement from increased nitrogen as the bees pollinate clover, and the raising of queens. Improved pasture will make beef production viable. At the moment cattle roam over unfenced peat land in search of grass and are often shot by hunters for sport. Michele and Mana see the raising of queens as providing a Noah’s ark for the future.