Honeybees

We assessed 30 triticale fields (15 organic vs. 15 conventional) and recorded vascular plants, pollinators, aphids and their predators. Organic fields had five times higher plant species richness and about twenty times higher pollinator species richness compared to conventional fields. Abundance of pollinators was even more than one-hundred times higher on organic fields. In contrast, the abundance of cereal aphids was five times lower in organic fields, while predator abundances were three times higher and predator-prey ratios twenty times higher in organic fields, indicating a significantly higher potential for biological pest control in organic fields.

The days of empty boxes being filled by swarms are over. Unless your bees are on a Eucalyptus honey flow or in native forests, it seems you are in trouble. The rate of recent use of Neonics is unprecedented in Australia's pesticide history; the growth in use amounts to a complete take over of most of our major crops here. Beekeepers are running away from canola (oilseed rape) for the first time in history, we used to run towards it! I can only see a downward spiral, Australian beekeepers are mostly older and the art of generational beekeeping is almost a myth.

Weil das Insektizid Cruiser 350 als mögliche Ursache für das Bienensterben gilt, hat das oberste französische Verwaltungsgericht die Zulassung für ungültig erklärt. Das Obergericht hiess mit seinem Urteil einen Antrag des französischen Imkerverbandes gut, wie die Nachrichtenagentur SDA schreibt. Cruiser 350 darf damit in Frankreich nicht mehr weiter verwendet werden. Das Insektizid wurde in Frankreich seit 2008 jedes Jahr vom Landwirtschaftministerium für ein weiteres Jahr zugelassen. In den meisten europäischen Ländern ist der Einsatz von Cruiser 350 verboten. Syngenta zeigte sich über das Urteil enttäuscht, wies allerdings darauf hin, dass das Urteil in keinem Zusammenhang mit Bedenken hinsichtlich der Bienenpopulation stehe, sondern gefällt wurde, weil eine einjährige Marktzulassung rechtlich nicht möglich ist. Cruiser 350 enthält den hochwirksamen und zur chemischen Klasse der Neonicotinoide gehörenden insektiziden Wirkstoff Thiamethoxam.

Pollinators are an essential part of a garden; so essential in fact, that 90 percent of the 250,000 flowering species now in existence rely on them according to the University of Georgia. Bees and butterflies make up the largest group of pollinators; however, the interior design of certain types of flowers makes it impossible for bees or butterflies to pollinate. These plants must rely on other types of insects to seek out the nectar they produce and pollinate them in the process.

New Delhi: Red Pierrot, Common Lime, Plain Tiger, Blue Pansy or the Common Castor may be unfamiliar names to most Indians, although it is likely that most would have seen one or more of the five—the most common butterflies found in India. While it is unlikely that most people would notice their absence, it is almost certain that plants will—butterflies, such as these, help them reproduce. The subcontinent has approximately 1,300 of more than 20,000 butterfly species known, said Kishen Das, a US-based lepidopterist. That’s about 6.5% of the global butterfly diversity. However, the problem is that around 100 of the butterfly species found in India are nearing extinction, according to Surya Prakash, a professor at the department of life sciences at Jawaharlal Nehru University. “Few are aware of the crucial pollination role the butterfly plays, which is second only to the honeybee,” he adds.

According to Science and Advice for Scottish Agriculture (SASA) the disease, Nosema ceranae, has been confirmed in Scotland for the first time. The disease is linked to the dwindling of honey bee colonies and is believed to be widespread in Europe, with a number of cases recorded in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Nosema ceranae is a microsporidial disease affecting honey bees related to the microsporidial disease, Nosema apis - producing dysentery in honey bees and linked to spring losses in Scottish colonies.

Currently there are more than 17,000 pesticide products on the market in the U.S., and scientists say there is much that remains unknown about their impact on the environment, including the effect of combinations of compounds. While many credit the EPA with doing a good job at making sure pesticides are safer and safer for humans, they have a lot to answer for when it comes to honey bees.

Sources within the EPA tell us that agency scientists have been voicing concern over the neonicotinoids since they first came up for registration over 15 years ago with special concern raised over impact to honey bees. Our sources also told us, however, that scientists can't even suggest a connection between pesticides and colony losses for fear of being ostracized and excluded from meetings. With decisions being made by administrators, who are not necessarily scientists, sources say they don't even know themselves what goes into these ultimate decisions of what to approve for sale. And sources report that EPA scientists feel demoralized, when they work so hard to get risk assessments out that decision makers ultimately ignore.