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Bees: Pesticide restrictions must be extended to wheat - new Friends of the Earth report
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<blockquote data-quote="Sandra Bell" data-source="post: 3373334" data-attributes="member: 55244"><p>Here's the summary of evidence on wild bees from Prof Dave Goulson describing both field and lab studies:</p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0)"></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0)">Let’s look at what we actually do know with certainty about neonics:</span></span></span></p><p></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0)">1) These are very widely used neurotoxins, applied extensively to many arable, horticultural and ornamental crops, and also found in veterinary products such as flea treatments for dogs and cats. They have high persistence so last for years in soil (Goulson 2013; Bonmatin et al. 2015). They are water soluble and are now routinely found in streams and ponds around the world (Bonmatin et al. 2015). They are also found in the pollen and nectar of wildflowers growing near treated crops (Botias et al. 2015; David et al. 2016), as well as in the pollen and nectar of the crop itself.</span></span></span></p><p></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0)">2) When we place honeybee or bumblebee nests onto farmland, the pollen and nectar stores that they gather often contain a cocktail of several neonics (and a bunch of other pesticides, mainly fungicides). Concentrations of neonics in their food typically range from 1 to ~10 ppb, sometimes more (which of course means that your breakfast honey also likely contains these neurotoxins) (Botias et al. 2015). </span></span></span></p><p></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0)">3) If we dose honeybees or bumblebees in the lab or in cages with food spiked with these same concentrations of neonics (i.e. between 1 and 10ppb), we get the following range of effects: reduced longevity, impaired immune response, impaired learning, reduced egg laying in queens, reduced fertility in males (reviewed in Pisa et al. 2015; Straub et al 2016). [Note that not every single study finds the same effects and a few have found no effects, presumably due to differences in methods, the particular neonic and dose used, the age and health of the bees used, the bee species studied etc. It isn’t simple, but the overwhelming evidence is that neonics do harm bees at field-realistic doses]</span></span></span></p><p></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0)">4) When bumblebee colonies are exposed to field realistic doses (Whitehorn et al. 2012; Arce et al. 2016) or exposed to treated crops in a field setting (Goulson 2015; Rundlof et al. 2015), the colonies perform very poorly, grow slowly and produce few queens.</span></span></span></p><p></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0)">5) Solitary bees perform poorly when near treated crops; fewer wild bees are found on the crop itself, and <em><span style="font-family: 'Arial'">Osmia</span></em> bees fail to nest entirely near treated crops (Rundlof et al. 2015). </span></span></span></p><p></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0)">6) Declines of wild bees and butterflies in the UK strongly correlate with geographic patterns of neonic use (Woodcock et al. 2016; Gilburn et al. 2015). [The pesticide industry immediately respond to this by saying “correlation is not proof of causation”. Of course this is also what the tobacco industry said about cancer and smoking. Correlation is not proof, but it is good confirmation of other evidence] </span></span></span></p><p></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0)">7) When honeybee colonies are exposed to treated crops, the deleterious effects on individual bees described in (3) do not seem to translate into significant harm to the colonies, at least inside a single year (e.g. Pilling et al. 2013; Cutler & Scott-Dupree 2007; Rundlof et al. 2015). Note that all but one of these studies (Rundlof et al. 2015) were performed by the agrochemical industry themselves or funded by them, and thus should probably be treated with a pinch of salt. If we take them all at face value, this does not rule out the possibility that exposure to neonics might contribute to colony loss in the longer term, for example by reducing queen longevity/ fecundity, but it does seem that there is no dramatic and immediate effect on honeybee colonies in the way that there is with bumblebees and solitary bees. Perhaps the very large colonies of honeybees buffer them against the impacts of pesticides, at least in the short term. </span></span></span></p><p></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0)">Overall, the case that neonics harm <u>bumblebees</u> is iron-clad. There are dozens of studies from lab to full field experiments that provide a convincing and coherent body of evidence. The case that neonics cause </span></span><u><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0)">honeybee colonies</span></span></u><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0)"> to die has not been proven beyond doubt, though it would seem highly likely that having their food laced with neurotoxins at doses that are known to leave individual bees susceptible to disease, dazed and confused isn’t helping them cope with their many other problems.</span></span></span></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Sandra Bell, post: 3373334, member: 55244"] Here's the summary of evidence on wild bees from Prof Dave Goulson describing both field and lab studies: [FONT=Arial][SIZE=3][COLOR=rgb(0, 0, 0)] Let’s look at what we actually do know with certainty about neonics:[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Arial][SIZE=3][COLOR=rgb(0, 0, 0)]1) These are very widely used neurotoxins, applied extensively to many arable, horticultural and ornamental crops, and also found in veterinary products such as flea treatments for dogs and cats. They have high persistence so last for years in soil (Goulson 2013; Bonmatin et al. 2015). They are water soluble and are now routinely found in streams and ponds around the world (Bonmatin et al. 2015). They are also found in the pollen and nectar of wildflowers growing near treated crops (Botias et al. 2015; David et al. 2016), as well as in the pollen and nectar of the crop itself.[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Arial][SIZE=3][COLOR=rgb(0, 0, 0)]2) When we place honeybee or bumblebee nests onto farmland, the pollen and nectar stores that they gather often contain a cocktail of several neonics (and a bunch of other pesticides, mainly fungicides). Concentrations of neonics in their food typically range from 1 to ~10 ppb, sometimes more (which of course means that your breakfast honey also likely contains these neurotoxins) (Botias et al. 2015). [/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Arial][SIZE=3][COLOR=rgb(0, 0, 0)]3) If we dose honeybees or bumblebees in the lab or in cages with food spiked with these same concentrations of neonics (i.e. between 1 and 10ppb), we get the following range of effects: reduced longevity, impaired immune response, impaired learning, reduced egg laying in queens, reduced fertility in males (reviewed in Pisa et al. 2015; Straub et al 2016). [Note that not every single study finds the same effects and a few have found no effects, presumably due to differences in methods, the particular neonic and dose used, the age and health of the bees used, the bee species studied etc. It isn’t simple, but the overwhelming evidence is that neonics do harm bees at field-realistic doses][/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Arial][SIZE=3][COLOR=rgb(0, 0, 0)]4) When bumblebee colonies are exposed to field realistic doses (Whitehorn et al. 2012; Arce et al. 2016) or exposed to treated crops in a field setting (Goulson 2015; Rundlof et al. 2015), the colonies perform very poorly, grow slowly and produce few queens.[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Arial][SIZE=3][COLOR=rgb(0, 0, 0)]5) Solitary bees perform poorly when near treated crops; fewer wild bees are found on the crop itself, and [I][FONT=Arial]Osmia[/FONT][/I] bees fail to nest entirely near treated crops (Rundlof et al. 2015). [/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Arial][SIZE=3][COLOR=rgb(0, 0, 0)]6) Declines of wild bees and butterflies in the UK strongly correlate with geographic patterns of neonic use (Woodcock et al. 2016; Gilburn et al. 2015). [The pesticide industry immediately respond to this by saying “correlation is not proof of causation”. Of course this is also what the tobacco industry said about cancer and smoking. Correlation is not proof, but it is good confirmation of other evidence] [/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Arial][SIZE=3][COLOR=rgb(0, 0, 0)]7) When honeybee colonies are exposed to treated crops, the deleterious effects on individual bees described in (3) do not seem to translate into significant harm to the colonies, at least inside a single year (e.g. Pilling et al. 2013; Cutler & Scott-Dupree 2007; Rundlof et al. 2015). Note that all but one of these studies (Rundlof et al. 2015) were performed by the agrochemical industry themselves or funded by them, and thus should probably be treated with a pinch of salt. If we take them all at face value, this does not rule out the possibility that exposure to neonics might contribute to colony loss in the longer term, for example by reducing queen longevity/ fecundity, but it does seem that there is no dramatic and immediate effect on honeybee colonies in the way that there is with bumblebees and solitary bees. Perhaps the very large colonies of honeybees buffer them against the impacts of pesticides, at least in the short term. [/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Arial][SIZE=3][COLOR=rgb(0, 0, 0)]Overall, the case that neonics harm [U]bumblebees[/U] is iron-clad. There are dozens of studies from lab to full field experiments that provide a convincing and coherent body of evidence. The case that neonics cause [/COLOR][/SIZE][U][SIZE=3][COLOR=rgb(0, 0, 0)]honeybee colonies[/COLOR][/SIZE][/U][SIZE=3][COLOR=rgb(0, 0, 0)] to die has not been proven beyond doubt, though it would seem highly likely that having their food laced with neurotoxins at doses that are known to leave individual bees susceptible to disease, dazed and confused isn’t helping them cope with their many other problems.[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT] [/QUOTE]
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Bees: Pesticide restrictions must be extended to wheat - new Friends of the Earth report
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