Other insects

The widespread prophylactic usage of neonicotinoid insecticides has a clear impact on non-target organisms. However, the possible effects of long-term exposure on soil-dwelling organisms are still poorly understood especially for social insects with long-living queens. Here, we show that effects of chronic exposure to the neonicotinoid thiamethoxam on black garden ant colonies, Lasius niger, become visible before the second overwintering.

Insect populations are plummeting across the world because of industrial farming and heavy pesticide use, and this decline is a threat to food production, warned a new report released on Tuesday (9 June 2020). The ‘Insect Atlas’ is a comprehensive new global review of trends in insect populations, their relationship with agriculture, and what needs to be done to ameliorate it. It was published by the Green think tank Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung in conjunction with environmental campaigns group Friends of the Earth Europe.

The grey partridge (Perdix perdix) has been deemed extirpated from Switzerland following a year of no sightings in 2019, marking a sad demise for a species once common in the land-locked European nation. Last year's blank came after only two breeding pairs were found in the Geneva region in 2018. Given their sedentary nature, a recurrence of the species is considered very unlikely.

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.

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

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

In einem Interview mit englischen Untertiteln erklärt der Toxikologe Henk Tennekes seine Ideen zur Entgleisung der Toxikologie. Er ist der Ansicht, dass insbesondere die kumulative Toxizität von Pestiziden in der Umwelt während des Zulassungsverfahrens nicht ausreichend untersucht wird, und erklärt damit die massive Insektensterblichkeit in den letzten Jahren.

https://youtu.be/D73HFu-CjZM