Other insects

Eine erschreckende Bilanz hat unlängst NRW-Landesumweltminister Johannes Remmel vorgelegt: Rund 44 Prozent unserer heimischen Tier- und Pflanzenarten sind mittlerweile in ihrem Bestand gefährdet und haben somit einen unrühmlichen Platz auf der Roten Liste ergattert. Und am Niederrhein? Leider ist auch hier das Ergebnis katastrophal. Selbst in den meisten Schutzgebieten geht der Artenschwund signifikant weiter. Insbesondere auf landwirtschaftlich genutzten Flächen ist die Artenvielfalt in den letzten Jahren rapide zurückgegangen.

New figures have emerged in a report by conservationists and nature experts which shows that wildlife in Staffordshire is declining at a rapid rate. The report is the first so-called 'stocktake' of animals and wildlife county-wide. The report by Staffordshire Wildlife Trust assessed species across farmland, freshwater, grassland, wetland, moorland, woodland, and low-land heathland. The figures showed that many species are in decline, from small rodents to insects. These include the hazel dormouse (Muscardinus avellanarius), water vole, and numerous butterfly species.

Neonicotinoids—the most widely used class of insecticides—significantly reduce populations of predatory insects when used as seed coatings, according to researchers at Penn State. The team's research challenges the previously held belief that neonicotinoid seed coatings have little to no effect on predatory insect populations. In fact, the work suggests that neonicotinoids reduce populations of insect predators as much as broadcast applications of commonly used pyrethroid insecticides.

La Fédération des apiculteurs du Québec applaudit la position de l'Agence de réglementation de la lutte antiparasitaire (ARLA) de Santé Canada, pour laquelle l'usage actuel de l'imidaclopride « ne peut durer ». La réévaluation par le ministère fédéral de ce pesticide de la famille des néonicotinoïdes a confirmé ses effets extrêmement nocifs pour les cours d'eau et les nappes phréatiques, pour les insectes dont se nourrissent les poissons et plusieurs mammifères, et pour les abeilles et les autres pollinisateurs.

Large parts of Ireland's environment is in a worse state today than 20 years ago, a major report from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says. Bird species, including the corncrake and the curlew, are almost extinct. There has been a "dramatic reduction" in the number of pristine rivers with high water quality. Report co-editor Dr Jonathan Dernham said there was a need for integrated policies to protect the environment.

Initial assessments that considered these insecticides harmless to aquatic organisms may have led to a relaxation of monitoring efforts, resulting in the worldwide contamination of many aquatic ecosystems with neonicotinoids. The decline of many populations of invertebrates, due mostly to the widespread presence of waterborne residues and the extreme chronic toxicity of neonicotinoids, is affecting the structure and function of aquatic ecosystems. Consequently, vertebrates that depend on insects and other aquatic invertebrates as their sole or main food resource are being affected.