10 Things You Always Wanted to Know About Neonics
12 November 2018
Pexels
By Daniel Raichel
As massive numbers of bees and other pollinators keep dying across the globe, study after study continues to connect these deaths to neonicotinoid pesticides (A.K.A. "neonics"). With the science piling up, and other countries starting to take critical pollinator-saving action, here's a quick primer on all things neonics:
<p><strong>1. What are neonics?</strong></p><p>Neonics are neurotoxic insecticides, meaning they are pesticides designed to kill insects by attacking their nerve cells. Neonics permanently bind to nerve cells, overstimulating and destroying them. Insects poisoned with neonics often exhibit uncontrollable shaking or twitching, paralysis, and—eventually—death.</p><p>Neonics are also "systemic," meaning they dissolve in water and are absorbed by plants, making the plant itself—including its nectar, pollen and fruit—toxic. Neonics are often applied as a "drench" to a plant's roots, or as a coating on a plant's seed, which the plant then soaks up as it grows. The levels applied can often be so high that they make the plant toxic to insects for years after the initial treatment.</p><p><strong>2. Where are neonics used?</strong></p><p>Everywhere. Neonics are the most popular insecticides in the U.S. and can be found in lawn and garden bug sprays, flea and tick treatments for pets and livestock, and food grown in farm fields across the country. As this <a href="https://water.usgs.gov/nawqa/pnsp/usage/maps/show_map.php?year=2014&map=IMIDACLOPRID&hilo=L&disp=Imidacloprid" target="_blank">map</a>* shows, the neonic imidacloprid is used just about every place that people grow crops. And that's just the tip of the iceberg—the map doesn't account for non-agricultural uses (e.g., golf courses, lawns, gardens) or the four other neonic chemicals also extensively used in the U.S.</p><p><strong>3. Do neonics harm bees?</strong></p><p>Absolutely. Neonics are designed to kill insects, and bees are insects. A large and growing body of research shows that neonic use is a leading cause of the massive bee die-offs around the globe that <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/stories/without-bees-foods-we-love-will-be-lost" target="_blank">threaten our food security</a>, agricultural economy and environment. Bees at risk include not only commercial honey bees, but the more than 4,000 species of native bees that live in the U.S., like the <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/experts/daniel-raichel/no-more-bumbling-bee-cleared-endangered-species-listing" target="_blank">rusty patched bumble bee</a> or the bees seen <a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=droege+bees+usgs&rlz=1C1GCEB_en&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiK4qmfy6TeAhVn44MKHWeaDU4Q_AUIDygC&biw=1920&bih=938" target="_blank">here</a> in every color of the rainbow.</p><p><strong>4. Do neonics harm other wildlife?</strong></p><p>Yes. Neonic use has been shown to cause significant losses of aquatic invertebrates, a critical food source to birds and fish. Neonic use has also been linked with documented losses of bird and butterfly populations.</p><p><strong>5. Do neonics contaminate our water?</strong></p><p>Yes. Neonics can persist in soil for a long time, where rain or irrigation water easily carries them into surrounding lakes, streams or sources for drinking water. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has found that neonics contaminate waterbodies nationwide, often at levels that harm critical aquatic insects and other wildlife. That's no surprise given how wastefully neonics are often applied. For example, when neonics are applied as seed treatment, only about 5 percent of the pesticide is absorbed by the plant at best—the other <em>~95 percent </em>stays in the soil. And with up to 100 percent of conventional corn and 50 percent of soybean seed now treated with neonics, it's not hard to guess how they keep ending up in our water.</p><p><strong>6. Are neonics in our food?</strong></p><p>Yes. Neonic residues are found in 86% of honey in the U.S. and also in blueberries, cranberries, peaches and other foods popular with kids and adults alike. Because neonics are actually <em>inside</em> the fruit, vegetables, and other foods we eat, they can't be washed off.</p><p><strong>7. Is there concern that neonics may be harming our health?</strong></p><p>Yes. Neonics attack parts of insect nerve cells that are similar to those found in humans, making researchers and health experts concerned that what's bad for bees could be bad for us too. In particular, emerging research suggests that exposure to neonics in the womb or early in life could be linked with developmental defects, including autism, heart deformations, muscle tremors, and memory loss.</p><p><strong>8. What is our federal government doing about neonics?</strong></p><p>Not much. Several years back, the U.S. EPA introduced the "bee hazard" icon and limited restrictions for some neonic products, but these baby steps have failed to stem massive bee and pollinator losses. EPA has also long been studying the impacts of neonics through its "registration review" process. Although these reviews could result in life-saving protections for pollinators, don't hold your breath—EPA just <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/experts/daniel-raichel/world-advances-save-bees-epa-stalls" target="_blank">quietly pushed back</a> the deadlines for their completion, and isn't expected to take needed action anyway while still under Trump and <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/save-epa" target="_blank">Andrew Wheeler's</a> direction.</p><p><strong>9. What have other countries done?</strong></p><p>A: Other countries are moving to ban outdoor uses of neonics. In 2018, The European Union voted to completely ban all outdoor uses of three neonics, citing their impacts to honey bees. Canada recently followed suit, recommending that the country similarly phase out all outdoor uses of the same neonics in 3-5 years.</p><p><strong>10. What should replace neonics if we limited their use?</strong></p><p>For the most part, nothing. Neonics are often used where they simply aren't effective. In 2014, EPA found that neonic soybean seed treatments "<a href="https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2014-10/documents/benefits_of_neonicotinoid_seed_treatments_to_soybean_production_2.pdf" target="_blank">likely provide $0 in benefits to growers</a>," yet up to half of all conventional soybean seed is still neonic-treated. Other recent research shows neonics to be similarly ineffective on corn, yet <em>up to 100 percent </em>of conventional corn seed gets a neonic treatment. These uses account for the vast bulk of neonics entering the environment and—since they don't work—they don't need replacing. Agroecological practices—like diverse crop rotations, cover cropping, and introducing natural enemies of crop pests (AKA "good bugs")—can eliminate the need for other neonic uses. In those instances where an insecticide is needed, less harmful substitutes for neonics are available.</p><p>*This map is from 2014, the last year USGS included neonic-treated seeds in its annual pesticide survey (even though treated seed usage has not diminished since). To understand how massive treated seed use is, compare this map to the 2015 map, and see the world of difference for yourself.</p>
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EcoWatch Daily Newsletter
Pexels
The Center for Biological Diversity Thursday urged the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to deny Bayer CropScience's request to allow the highly bee-toxic pesticide flupyradifurone to be sprayed on tobacco in states like Kentucky and North Carolina.
<p>Although flupyradifurone is known to harm pollinators like bees and freshwater invertebrates like mussels, the pesticide maker is asking the EPA to approve its use across more than 300,000 acres in areas that are home to more than three dozen protected species.</p><p>"Expanding use of this dangerous chemical will threaten many endangered species, as well as bees already battered by neonicotinoid pesticides," said Tara Cornelisse, a senior scientist with the Center for Biological Diversity. "Pollinators and many aquatic invertebrates across the Southeast are already struggling. Approval of yet another highly toxic pesticide for tobacco will add to their toxic load and likely result in further losses."</p><p>Flupyradifurone is a systemic pesticide with the same mode of action—and potential for harm—as neonicotinoid pesticides, a leading cause of pollinator declines. While the pesticide industry has touted flupyradifurone as a replacement for neonicotinoid pesticides, it poses many of the same risks to non-target species as neonicotinoids.</p><p>For example, flupyradifurone <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-018-23200-0" target="_blank">impairs</a> learning, memory and affinity for nectar rewards in honey bees. Further, flupyradifurone is highly water soluble and <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0269749116305929" target="_blank">decreases the viability</a> of freshwater mussel larvae; it also <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0269749117342392" target="_blank">negatively impacts</a> aquatic mayfly larvae survival at levels comparable to neonicotinoid pesticides like imidacloprid and clothianidin.</p><p>Because flupyradifurone's negative effects worsen with increased dosage, its use on tobacco would compound the harm already caused by widespread use of other neonicotinoids on corn and soy in tobacco-growing counties.</p><p>"Approval of this harmful neurotoxin would create a dangerous double-whammy for bees and freshwater mussels already suffering from exposure to neonics," said Cornelisse. "Expanded use of this harmful pesticide is a risk we can't afford to take."</p><p>Among the 38 threatened and endangered species living in areas where tobacco is grown are 17 species of <a href="https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/campaigns/freshwater_mussels/" target="_blank">freshwater mussels</a> that play essential water-purifying roles in aquatic ecosystems.</p><p>The greatest amount of tobacco acreage under consideration for the pesticide's use is in North Carolina and Kentucky. Other areas include Tennessee, Virginia, Georgia and South Carolina.</p><p>Endangered freshwater mussel species that would face increased harm include the Georgia spinymussel, dwarf wedgemussel, rayed bean and orangefoot pimpleback.</p><p>In addition, flupyradifurone is likely to harm and kill native bees that are important for the pollination and survival of nine endangered flowering plants, including smooth coneflower and Short's bladderpod.</p><p>The Center for Biological Diversity and allies <a href="https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/news/press_releases/2015/pesticides-03-16-2015.html" target="_blank">sued</a> the EPA over its initial approval of flupyradifurone, challenging the agency's refusal to take common sense measures to protect endangered species from this new and controversial pesticide. This litigation is in its initial stages at the Washington, D.C. Court of Appeals.</p><p>The period for public comment on the approval request ends on Friday. Although the EPA often approves new uses quickly, the agency has not established a timeframe for this approval process.</p>
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Trump Admin Reverses Ban on 'Bee-Killing' Pesticides in National Wildlife Refuges
06 August 2018
Animals
Bees like this one could be harmed by the lifting of a ban on neonicotinoids in national wildlife refuges. Mark Winterbourne / CC BY 2.0
The Trump administration has lifted an Obama-era ban on the use of genetically modified crops and pesticides linked to bee decline in certain national wildlife refuges where farming is allowed, Reuters reported Saturday.
<p>In a <a href="https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/campaigns/pesticides_reduction/pdfs/2018-8-2-FWS-memo-GMO-Neonics-on-wildlife-refuges.pdf" target="_blank">memo</a> signed Aug. 2, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Principal Deputy Director Gregory J. Sheehan said the move was necessary to provide adequate food for waterfowl. </p><p>"There may be situations, however, where use of GMO crop seeds is essential to best fulfill the purposes of the refuge and the needs of birds and other <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/wildlife" target="_self">wildlife</a>," Sheehan wrote. </p><p>Boosting waterfowl populations dovetails with the interests of sportspeople who hunt ducks and other birds, and Interior Secretary <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/ryan-zinke" target="_self">Ryan Zinke</a> has made expanding hunting on national lands a priority, Reuters reported. </p><p>But environmental groups argue the decision comes at the expense of other species.</p><p>"Industrial agriculture has no place on public lands dedicated to conservation of biological diversity and the protection of our most vulnerable species, including pollinators like bumble bees and monarch butterflies. The Trump administration's approval to use toxic pesticides and genetically modified crops is an insult to our national wildlife refuges and the wildlife that rely on them," President and CEO of <a href="https://defenders.org/" target="_blank">Defenders of Wildlife</a> <a href="https://defenders.org/staff/jamie-rappaport-clark" target="_blank">J</a>amie Rappaport Clark said in a <a href="https://newsroom.defenders.org/trump-administration-opens-national-wildlife-refuges-to-pollinator-poisons-and-harmful-gmos/" target="_blank">statement</a>. </p><p>The pesticides in question, <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/neonicotinoids" target="_self">neonicotinoids</a>, have been <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/bees-neonicotinoids-ban-europe-2563782231.html" target="_self">banned in the EU</a> after research linked them to the decline in the populations of bees and other pollinators. </p><p>Jim Kurth, head of the refuge system under Obama, announced the ban in 2014, arguing that the use of neonicotinoids led to plants whose tissues harmed "non-target" species. Moreover, he said that "refuges throughout the country successfully meet wildlife management objectives without" genetically modified crops or the pesticides they are engineered to withstand, Reuters reported.</p><p>Defenders of Wildlife further noted that the populations of game birds like geese and ducks are currently doing fine without the help of genetically modified crops. </p><p>Sheehan, however, has reversed the blanket ban and said that the use of genetically modified crops and neonicotinoids would be considered in the more than 50 farming-friendly refuges on a case-by-case basis. </p><p>The move came a day after California's Department of Pesticide Regulation released a <a href="https://www.cdpr.ca.gov/docs/registration/reevaluation/chemicals/neonicotinoid_risk_determination.pdf" target="_blank">risk assessment</a> finding that the use of four neonicotinoids on certain crops, including the corn and sorghum often grown in refuges, could cause more harm to pollinators than previously thought, <a href="https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/news/press_releases/2018/pesticides-gmos-national-wildlife-refuges-08-04-2018.php" target="_blank">The Center for Biological Diversity reported</a>. </p><p>"Agricultural pesticides, especially bee-killing neonics, have no place on our national wildlife refuges," senior <a href="https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/" target="_blank">Center for Biological Diversity</a> attorney Hannah Connor said. "This huge backward step will harm bees and other pollinators already in steep decline simply to appease pesticide-makers and promote mono-culture farming techniques that trigger increased pesticide use. It's senseless and shameful."</p><p><br><br></p>
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By Dan Nosowitz
Neonicotinoid pesticides have commonly been linked to the plight of honeybees.
But a new study from the University of Guelph finds that honeybees aren't the only non-pest creatures that are coming into contact with the pesticides.
<p><span></span>Neonicotinoids, sometimes called neonics, are pesticides chemically similar to nicotine, hence their name. There are several different varieties, with the three most common being imidacloprid, thiamethoxam and clothianidin. They're exceedingly prevalent in the U.S. and were also used in Europe—at least before they were banned in the EU <a href="https://modernfarmer.com/2018/04/eu-issues-near-complete-ban-on-neonicotinoid-pesticides/" target="_blank">earlier this year</a>.</p><p>Neonicotinoids have been repeatedly linked to <a href="https://modernfarmer.com/2016/06/colony-collapse-disorder/" target="_blank">honeybee colony collapse disorder</a>, and concern for the pollinators is generally stated as a major reason for bans and restrictions. But research on other animals has not been as extensive; a <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/nature13531" target="_blank">study in 2014</a> found a correlation between the increase in neonicotinoid use and a decrease in insect-eating birds, but, as we all learned in high school, correlation does not necessarily mean causation.</p><p>This new study examined carcasses of wild turkeys in southern Ontario and found that nearly 25 percent of them had detectable levels of neonicotinoids in their livers. Wild turkeys are omnivores, eating basically anything they can catch or find, and it's fairly common for them to eat seeds. Neonicotinoids are generally sold as seeds treated with the brightly colored pesticide, and corn and soy coated seeds were found in some of the birds' digestive systems.</p><p>What this study does not examine is the effects of consuming neonicotinoids on wild turkeys (or any other animal). <a href="https://www.epa.gov/pesticides/epa-releases-neonicotinoid-assessments-public-comment" target="_blank">Last year, the EPA released</a> an assessment finding that seed-eating birds can be harmed by consuming neonic-coated seeds; likely effects include reduced reproductive activity and migratory abilities.</p><p> <em>Reposted with permission from our media associate <a href="https://modernfarmer.com/2018/06/neonicotinoid-pesticides-have-been-found-in-wild-turkeys/" target="_blank">Modern Farmer</a>.</em><em></em></p>
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Trending
Below is a transcript of the video.
<p><a href="https://www.nrdc.org/experts/rebecca-riley" target="_blank">Rebecca Riley</a>, senior attorney, NRDC: </p><p>Right now, we're in a real crisis when it comes to bees.</p><p>Every year, about a third of our honeybee colonies collapse. And the 4,000 native bee species in the United States suffer from those same threats that honeybees do. Those are species like bumblebees and carpenter <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/bees">bees</a> and other really specialized kinds of bees.</p><p>Bees are a really critical part of our food system. One out of every three bites of food we eat, every day, every week, is dependent on bees for pollination. That's a whole different range of foods, from fruits to nuts to vegetables. Things like almonds are heavily dependent on bees for pollination, tomatoes, pumpkins, blueberries.</p><p>And it's not just plants. Small animals, birds depend on the fruits and seeds produced in the wild, and those fruits and seeds are dependent on bees for pollination.</p><p>We think that the bee population crash is caused by several factors, including <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/pesticides">pesticides</a>, habitat loss and disease, and those three factors really work together.</p><p>Neonics are a really serious threat to bees. They're what's called a systemic pesticide, and that means it's in the pollen, it's in the nectar, it's in the leaves, and the plant itself becomes the pesticide.</p><p>Now you can imagine why that's a problem for bees, because bees are visiting these plants, and they're picking up the neonics, and they're bringing them back to the hive.</p><p>One of the most important things we need to do is appropriately regulate neonics. The EU just banned the three most commonly used neonics in Europe. We see Canada taking steps to cut back on neonics, and we haven't done that here in the United States. We've allowed them to be overused throughout the country.</p><p>So EPA really needs to step up and to do its job. States have started to restrict neonics to make sure that we're not overusing these on golf courses, in parks, and in our backyards, and that's a really important next step.</p><p>If we continue to ignore this problem, we will lose bee species in the United States.</p>
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Recently up-listed to 'Vulnerable,' the snowy owl's rapid decline is likely connected to climate change. Wikimedia Commons
A major global assessment of global bird populations paints a grim outlook for our feathered friends.
A new report from BirdLife International finds that 40 percent of the world's 11,000 bird species are in decline, with one in eight bird species now under some threat of extinction.
<p>
The <a href="https://www.birdlife.org/sites/default/files/attachments/BL_ReportENG_V11_spreads.pdf" target="_blank"><em>State of the World's Birds 2018</em></a> report<em>, </em>which took five years to compile, even shows that a number of well-known birds, including the snowy owl<em>,</em> Atlantic puffin and the European turtle-dove, are now at risk of extinction.
</p><p>
The researchers note that the decline in global bird populations has been driven by human activity. According to the report, the expansion and intensification of <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/agriculture">agriculture</a> impacts 1,091 (74 percent) of globally threatened birds.
</p><p>
For instance—the use of <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/neonicotinoids">neonicotinoids</a>, a controversial class of neurotoxic insecticides connected to widespread <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/pollinators">bee</a> population declines—has also been linked to white-crowned sparrows losing a quarter of their body mass and fat stores and impairing their migratory orientation, one <a href="https://www.sciencenews.org/article/seeds-birds-neonicotinoid-pesticide-migration" target="_blank">study</a> found.
</p><p>
Logging, overexploitation, urbanization, pollution, disturbance and invasive species were also identified as drivers of the world's diminishing bird populations.
</p><p>
"The data are unequivocal. We are undergoing a steady and continuing deterioration in the status of the world's birds," Tris Allinson, BirdLife's Senior Global Science Officer and editor-in-chief of the report, said in a statement. "The threats driving the avian extinction crisis are many and varied, but invariably of humanity's making."
</p><p>
<span></span>Notably, the report also identified human-induced <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/climate-change">climate change</a> as one of the most serious long-term threats to birds. The iconic, once-widespread snowy owl—recently up-listed to "Vulnerable" on the International Union of Conservation of Nature Red List—has experienced rapid declines <a href="https://www.birdlife.org/worldwide/news/snowy-owl-faces-frosty-future-classed-vulnerable-first-time" target="_blank">likely due to changes</a> in snowmelt and snow cover affecting the availability and distribution of prey.
</p><p>
Similarly, sea birds such as Atlantic puffin and the black-legged kittiwake—both listed as Vulnerable to extinction—have also seen a depletion of fish due to overfishing and climate change.
</p><p>
<span></span>As a <a href="https://www.birdlife.org/worldwide/news/even-familiar-birds-risk-extinction-new-study-finds" target="_blank">press release</a> for the report noted, this isn't just bad news for birds, it's also a warning for the planet as a whole: "Because birds are so widespread, being found in nearly every type of ecosystem, and one of the most studied groups of animals, they are excellent indicators of the state of the environment."
</p><p>
<span></span>There is some good news in the report. Conservation interventions have saved at least 25 bird species threatened with extinction, the researchers found. The red-billed curassow, the pink pigeon of Mauritius and the black-faced spoonbill, which were each listed as Critically Endangered are now down-listed to Endangered.
</p><p>
The report outlines actions and changes to help birds, including restoration of habitats key to birds, eradicating and controlling invasive species and identifying the most vulnerable bird species in order to protect them.
</p><p>
"Although the report provides a sobering update on the state of birds and biodiversity, and of the challenges ahead, it also clearly demonstrates that solutions do exist and that significant, lasting success can be achieved" said Patricia Zurita, BirdLife's CEO.
</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xNzU4Njc3Ny9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY2MjE2NDAyMX0.2D0kMaEruuqj9q95dkyL5UrB1ImKF35GumEdOgCgxwE/img.png?width=980" id="77bc1" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="3790cc4e6b2f03b76ecbeef82fc8cdf1" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image">
<small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="add photo credit...">The State of the World's Birds 2018 report</small></p>
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Monday, the Washington Department of Ecology sided with Center for Food Safety and numerous other community and conservation groups, and denied shellfish growers a permit to spray imidacloprid, a neonicotinoid, on shellfish beds on Willapa Bay and Grays Harbor, in southwest Washington. The requested permit would have allowed shellfish growers from Willapa-Grays Harbor Oyster Growers Association to spray this neurotoxic insecticide into water for the first time, in order to kill native burrowing shrimp.
<p style="">"Center for Food Safety applauds the Washington Department of Ecology for making the right decision this time around and saying 'no' to the use of <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/neonicotinoids">neonicotinoids</a> in Washington bay waters," said Amy van Saun, staff attorney in Center for Food Safety's Pacific Northwest office."The state followed the laws requiring protection of this crucial aquatic ecosystem, the wildlife that depend on it, and the public from a dangerous plan to continue the chemical legacy of the industrial shellfish industry." </p><p style="">"We are pleased to see that after taking a hard look at the science that Ecology reached the inescapable conclusion that there must be a better way to find a balance within Willapa Bay that will allow oyster growers thrive while protecting this unique and fragile place," said Andrew Hawley with the Western Environmental Law Center.</p><p style="">After initially granting a request to spray imidacloprid, one of the oldest and most toxic neonicotinoids (the pesticides that are extremely harmful to pollinators, <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/neonicotinoid-pesticides-birds-2518407784.html">aquatic invertebrates and birds</a>), the Washington Department of Ecology withdrew the permit in 2015 due to public outcry, especially from Seattle chefs. But the Growers Association again applied to spray imidacloprid, never before approved for aquatic use, onto shellfish beds to kill burrowing or ghost shrimp, a native species the growers say loosens the substrate and causes oysters and clams to sink. The Washington Department of Ecology completed a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) to evaluate the new science on imidacloprid and neonicotinoids' impact on the aquatic environment, <a href="https://www.ecology.wa.gov/About-us/Get-to-know-us/News/2018/Jan-05-Enviro-review-completed-for-imidacloprid" target="_blank">concluding that the use of imidacloprid in Willapa Bay/Grays Harbor would have various harmful impacts</a>, including:</p><ul class="ee-ul"> <li>Significant, unavoidable impacts to sediment quality and benthic invertebrates.</li></ul><ul class="ee-ul"> <li>Negative impacts to juvenile worms and crustaceans in areas treated with imidacloprid and nearby areas covered by incoming tides.</li></ul><ul class="ee-ul"> <li>Negative impacts to fish and birds caused by killing sources of food and disrupting the food web.</li></ul><ul class="ee-ul"> <li>Concern about non-lethal impacts to invertebrates in the water column and sediment.</li></ul><ul class="ee-ul"> <li>A risk of impacts from imidacloprid even at low concentrations.</li></ul><ul class="ee-ul"><li>Increased uncertainty about long-term, non-lethal and cumulative impacts.</li></ul><p style="">Center for Food Safety, along with the Center for Biological Diversity and the Western Environmental Law Center, <a href="https://commentinput.com/attachments/projectID_1001/10063/merged/13118-merged.pdf?v=CB5ZN7U42" target="_blank">commented</a> on the SEIS, urging the Washington Department of Ecology to consider all the latest science pointing to the extreme danger posed by water contamination with neonicotinoids and not to grant the permit based on both data gaps and the disturbing evidence of harm from neonicotinoids, including to aquatic species like Dungeness crabs, a commercially-valuable species.</p><p style="">"Dumping imidacloprid, or any other pesticide, into state waters depended on by so many plants and animals, including people, was never a good, long-term solution," said Lori Ann Burd, director of the Center for Biological Diversity's environmental health program. "It's important that we find sound, sustainable answers to the challenges Washington oyster farmers are facing that help balance, rather than poison, the environment we all share."</p>
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Study Shows Some Pesticides More Bee-Safe Than Others, But Are Any Pesticides Eco-Friendly?
23 March 2018
Animals
A study published Thursday in Current Biology is being hailed in a University of Exeter press release as a major "breakthrough" in developing bee-friendly insecticides. But some environmentalists think the research is asking the wrong questions to begin with.
<p><a href="http://www.panna.org/" target="_blank">Pesticide Action Network</a> UK Director Keith Tyrell told <a href="http://www.dw.com/en/environmentalists-skeptical-of-breakthrough-on-bee-friendly-pesticides/a-43064516" target="_blank">DW</a> that focusing only on bee-safe <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/pesticides" target="_self">pesticides</a> was misguided, since insect loss also threatened overall <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/biodiversity">biodiversity</a>. </p><p>"We need to find a way to change our agricultural model, and switch to non-chemical pest control methods that work with nature. These techniques exist and are effective," Tyrell told DW. </p><p>The study, conducted by the University of Exeter, Rothamsted Research and Bayer AG, isolated the enzymes in <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/bees">bees</a> that determine their sensitivity to different <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/neonicotinoids" target="_self">neonicotinoids</a>. Neonicotinoids are controversial pesticides that have been restricted in the EU since 2013 due to their impact on bee populations. </p><p>While previous research had indicated that bees responded better to certain neonicotinoids because they could metabolize them faster, the researchers were able to isolate the subfamily of enzymes called cytochrome P450 responsible for breaking down neonicotinoids. </p><p>The subfamily, called CYP9Q, metabolizes thiacloprid well and imidacloprid poorly, the study found. </p><p>University of Exeter research-team-leader Chriss Bass hoped the findings would help develop bee-safe pesticides. </p><p>"Identifying these key enzymes provides valuable tools to screen new pesticides early in their development to see if bees can break them down," he said in the University of Exeter press release. </p><p>However, it should be noted that Bayer, which manufactures neonicotinoids, helped fund the study, and Bass seemed almost more concerned with the manufacturer's bottom line than he did with the health of the bees. </p><p>"It can take a decade and $260 million to develop a single pesticide, so this knowledge can help us avoid wasting time and money on pesticides that will end up with substantial use restrictions due to intrinsic bee toxicity," he wrote. </p><p>Just because bees can break down thiacloprid doesn't mean it's entirely healthy for them to do so, Dave Goulson of the University of Sussex told DW. He pointed to <a href="https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acs.est.6b04791?journalCode=esthag" target="_blank">research</a> he conducted in 2017 showing the pesticide did hurt bumblebee colonies. </p><p>"Despite the lower toxicity to bees compared to some other neonicotinoid pesticides, there is evidence that thiacloprid use does harm bumblebee nests under field conditions," he told DW. "It is less toxic, but applied at a much higher rate."</p><p>However, Lund University researcher Maj Rundlöf, who published a 2015 study showing neonicotinoids hurt bee populations, said it was helpful to distinguish between more and less harmful products. </p><p>"All neonicotinoids are not the same," she told <a href="https://www.sciencenews.org/article/how-bees-defend-against-some-controversial-insecticides" target="_blank">ScienceNews</a>. "It's a bit unrealistic to damn a whole group of pesticides."</p><p>But Tyrell's point, that even insecticides that take out only their target can have disastrous consequences for ecosystems, was born out by the results of two recent French studies reported by <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/mar/21/catastrophe-as-frances-bird-population-collapses-due-to-pesticides" target="_blank">The Guardian</a> Tuesday. The studies found that in, the past decade and a half, populations of once-common bird species like the Eurasian skylark and ortolan bunting had declined by at least one third in the French countryside. Researchers hypothesized that the decline is likely due to pesticides that kill the insects birds depend on for food. </p><p>"There are hardly any insects left, that's the number one problem," Vincent Bretagnolle, an ecologist at the Centre for Biological Studies in Chize, told The Guardian. </p>
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The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) concluded in a new assessment that "most uses" of three widely used neonicotinoids—imidacloprid, clothianidin and thiamethoxam—pose a risk to wild bees and honeybees, which play a crucial role in pollination across the globe.
The conclusion, based on analysis of more than 1,500 studies, will likely prompt a total ban on the pesticides from all fields across the European Union when the issue comes to a vote next month, the Guardian reported.
<p style="">
The EU already banned the pesticides on flowering crops in 2013. But the new report suggests the existing ban is insufficient, as using the chemicals in any outdoor setting can pose a risk to bees.
</p><p style="">
<a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/neonicotinoids-bees-epa-2534882372.html">Thousands of studies</a> have identified neonicotinoids as key contributors to declining pollinator populations. The chemicals have even been found to harm birds and aquatic invertebrates.
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</p><div id="60be9" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="3T1U1N1576683844"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="942790591661985793" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">EPA: Neonicotinoid Pesticides Pose Serious Risks to Birds, Aquatic Life https://t.co/3p06Sc5VDD #neonics… https://t.co/MPr2EZL7cF</div> — EcoWatch (@EcoWatch)<a href="https://twitter.com/EcoWatch/statuses/942790591661985793">1513613767.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p></p><p style="">
"The availability of such a substantial amount of data as well as the guidance has enabled us to produce very detailed conclusions," said Jose Tarazona, head of EFSA's pesticides unit.</p><p style="">
"There is variability in the conclusions, due to factors such as the bee species, the intended use of the pesticide and the route of exposure. Some low risks have been identified, but overall the risk to the three types of bees we have assessed is confirmed."
</p><p style="">
German chemical giant
<a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/bayer" target="_blank">Bayer</a> makes imidacloprid and clothianidin, and Swiss agribusiness <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/syngenta">Syngenta</a> makes thiamethoxam. The companies are challenging the restrictions in EU courts.
</p><p style="">
Bayer
<a href="https://phys.org/news/2018-02-eu-food-agency-pesticides-bees.html" target="_blank">said</a> it "fundamentally disagrees" with EFSA's analysis. And a Syngenta spokesman told the Guardian, "EFSA sadly continues to rely on a [bee risk guidance] document that is overly conservative, extremely impractical and would lead to a ban of most if not all insecticides, including organic products."
</p><p style="">
But environmental groups celebrated the new EFSA report.
</p><p style="">
"The evidence is overwhelming that bees, and the crops and plants they pollinate, are at dire risk from neonicotinoid pesticides," Franziska Achterberg,
<a href="http://www.greenpeace.org" target="_blank">Greenpeace</a> EU food policy adviser, said. "National governments must stop dithering and back the proposed EU neonicotinoid ban as the first step to prevent the catastrophic collapse of bee populations."
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</p><div id="da0e2" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="952CV91576683844"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="964266857241997312" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Conservation Groups, House Reps Call for EPA to Respect Science, Take Action on Pollinator-Killing Pesticides… https://t.co/IrLcR1qlxJ</div> — EcoWatch (@EcoWatch)<a href="https://twitter.com/EcoWatch/statuses/964266857241997312">1518734108.0</a></blockquote></div>
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Conservation Groups, House Reps Call for EPA to Respect Science, Take Action on Pollinator-Killing Pesticides
15 February 2018
Animals
Wil Molenkamp / Flickr
Congressman Earl Blumenauer (D.-Ore.), alongside Representative Jim McGovern (D.-Mass.) and conservation, farmworker, farmer and consumer groups, on Wednesday reintroduced the Saving America's Pollinators Act, which aims to suspend the registration of certain neonicotinoid insecticides until the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) conducts a full scientific review.
In addition, 16 environmental and conservation groups have collected more than 100,000 public comments urging the agency to rein in the rampant overuse of neonicotinoid pesticides—a leading cause of pollinator population declines.
<p>Thousands of scientific studies implicate neonicotinoid pesticides, or "neonics," as key contributors to declining pollinator populations. EPA's own scientists have found that neonics pose far-reaching risks to birds and aquatic invertebrates.</p><p>Last week, at the request of industry, the EPA extended its <a href="https://protect-us.mimecast.com/s/YqRlCG6zQPhA5g9IBRIEg?domain=link.email.dynect.net" target="_blank">comment period</a> on preliminary ecological and human health risk assessments for the neonicotinoids clothianidin, thiamethoxam and dinotefuran, and a preliminary ecological risk assessment for the neonicotinoid imidacloprid. The EPA's risk assessments found deadly impacts to birds from neonic-treated seeds, poisoned insect prey and contaminated grasses. </p><p>"EPA's recent assessment confirms what the <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/science/">science</a> has already shown: that neonicotinoids are highly toxic not just to <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/bees">bees</a>, but to aquatic species and birds," said Nichelle Harriott, science and regulatory director at <a href="https://www.beyondpesticides.org/" target="_blank">Beyond Pesticides</a>. "To protect our waterways and pollinators it is imperative that action be taken on these chemicals." </p><p>"Our nation's beekeepers continue to suffer unacceptable mortality of 40 percent annually and higher," said Andrew Kimbrell, executive director of <a href="https://www.centerforfoodsafety.org" target="_blank">Center for Food Safety</a>. "Water contamination by these insecticides is virtually out of control. Wild pollinators and wetland-dependent birds are in danger. EPA must recognize the vast scientific literature showing the hazards of these chemicals and act to protect bees and the environment."</p><p>University researchers have found that tiny amounts of neonics are enough to cause migrating songbirds to lose their sense of direction and become emaciated. A recent study by USGS researchers found neonics widespread in the <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/great-lakes">Great Lakes</a> at levels that may potentially harm aquatic insects—the foundation of healthy aquatic ecosystems.</p><p>"By harming pollinators like bees and butterflies, and natural pest control agents like birds and beneficial insects, neonicotinoids are sabotaging the very organisms on which farmers depend," said Cynthia Palmer, director of pesticides science and regulation at <a href="https://abcbirds.org/" target="_blank">American Bird Conservancy</a>. </p><p>These chemicals have become ubiquitous in our food supply. Testing carried out by American Bird Conservancy and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health found neonicotinoids in 9 out of 10 bites of food from House and Senate dining halls, with some foods containing as many as five types of neonics.</p><p>Europe has instituted a temporary ban on neonicotinoids based on their harms to pollinators. Canada's pesticide regulatory agency <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/consumer-product-safety/reports-publications/pesticides-pest-management/fact-sheets-other-resources/neonicotinoid-pesticides-bee-health/update-2017.html?=undefined&wbdisable=true" target="_blank">has recommended</a> banning the most widely used neonicotinoid based on harms to aquatic ecosystems.</p><p>"When presented with the science about neonics and bees, the question becomes 'In what imaginary world could this astoundingly efficient bee-killing, persistent insecticide, used countrywide in extreme overkill quantities, not be harming our pollinators?' said Dr. Luke Goembel, chemist and legislative vice chair with the <a href="http://www.centralmarylandbees.org" target="_blank">Central Maryland Beekeepers Association</a>. "The only thing that is keeping the U.S. from joining other nations in banning the use of these devastating poisons is the immense profit that fuels PR campaigns, intense lobbying efforts, and questionable studies designed to mislead us on the harm these poisons do."<br><br>Given the ongoing obstruction by EPA leadership, however, Representatives Blumenauer and McGovern are offering a legislative remedy to address the national pollinator crisis.<br><br>"Scientists at EPA are treated as irrelevant now because they are no longer part of the decision-making process," said Betsy Southerland, former director of EPA's office of Science and Technology. "All environmental decisions come out of Administrator <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/scott-pruitt">Pruitt</a>'s private meetings with industry and agribusiness."</p><p>"The EPA has an important mission—protecting people and the environment from harm," said Genna Reed, science and policy analyst for <a href="https://www.ucsusa.org/" target="_blank">Union of Concerned Scientists</a>. "The EPA's leadership can't do their job unless they listen to their own scientists and make decisions that reflect the facts. At a time when EPA staff is shrinking and science advisors at the agency are underutilized, it is critical that the agency act to enforce safeguards that really protect people, informed by the evidence."</p>
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</p><div id="60be9" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="IA5IEI1576662165"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="942790591661985793" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">EPA: Neonicotinoid Pesticides Pose Serious Risks to Birds, Aquatic Life https://t.co/3p06Sc5VDD #neonics… https://t.co/MPr2EZL7cF</div> — EcoWatch (@EcoWatch)<a href="https://twitter.com/EcoWatch/statuses/942790591661985793">1513613767.0</a></blockquote></div>
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The Canadian government is banning plastic microbeads in toiletries. Although designed to clean us, they're polluting the environment, putting the health of fish, wildlife and people at risk. Manufacturers and consumers ushered plastic microbeads into the marketplace, but when we learned of their dangers, we moved to phase them out.
Why, then, is it taking so long to phase out the world's most widely used insecticides, neonicotinoids? Scientists have proven they're harming not only the pests they're designed to kill, but also a long list of non-target species, including pollinators we rely on globally for about one-third of food crops.
<p style="">Neonics are systemic <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/pesticides">pesticides</a>. Plants absorb and integrate them into all tissues—roots, stems, leaves, flowers, pollen and nectar. First introduced in the 1990s, they now account for one-third of the global pesticide market. Agricultural applications include leaf sprays, and seed and soil treatments. They're also used for trees, turf products and flea and tick treatments for pets.</p><p style="">We've known about <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/canadian-beekeepers-sue-bayer-and-syngenta-over-neonicotinoid-pesticides-1.2754441" target="_blank">neonics' harmful impacts</a> on pollinators and ecosystems for years, but this summer, two major scientific releases added significantly to the ever-growing body of research proving widespread use of these toxic chemicals must stop.</p><p style="">On Sept. 18, the <a href="http://www.tfsp.info/" target="_blank">Task Force on Systemic Pesticides</a>—an international group of independent scientists convened by the International Union for Conservation of Nature—released an update to its 2015 <a href="http://www.tfsp.info/worldwide-integrated-assessment/" target="_blank"><em>Worldwide Integrated Assessment of the Impact of Systemic Pesticides on Biodiversity and Ecosystems</em></a>. The 2017 update takes into account more than 500 additional peer-reviewed studies, revealing broader impacts and reinforcing the 2015 conclusions that <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/pesticide-bee-bird-deaths-neonicotinoids-1.4296357" target="_blank">neonics represent a major worldwide threat</a> to biodiversity, ecosystems and the services nature provides.</p><p style="">On Oct. 6, task force scientist Edward Mitchell and an interdisciplinary team from the University of Neuchâtel and the Botanical Garden in Neuchâtel, Switzerland, published a study in Science, which found <a href="http://science.sciencemag.org/content/358/6359/109" target="_blank">three-quarters of the honey produced throughout the world contains neonics</a>. Although concentrations were below the maximum authorized for human consumption, they surpassed levels proven to affect bees' behavior, physiology and reproductive abilities.</p>
<p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed"></p><div id="49c20" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="0JQL7Z1576662622"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="916815557248409601" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">75% of World's Honey Laced With Pesticides https://t.co/w0HIYxRIKD @BurtsBees @helpthebees</div> — EcoWatch (@EcoWatch)<a href="https://twitter.com/EcoWatch/statuses/916815557248409601">1507420837.0</a></blockquote></div><p></p>
<p style="">Conducted in 2015 and 2016, the study analyzed 198 honey samples from around the world, searching for the five most common neonics: acetamiprid, clothianidin, imidacloprid, thiacloprid and thiamethoxam. <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/honey-pesticides-global-2494057860.html">Seventy-five percent</a> contained at least one, with proportions varying considerably by region. The highest levels were in North America (86 percent), Asia (80 percent) and Europe (79 percent), with the lowest in South America (57 percent).<br></p><p style="">Thirty percent of all samples contained a single neonicotinoid, 45 percent contained between two and five and 10 percent contained four or five. Regulators don't tend to consider the "cocktail effects" of contamination by multiple neonics. The impacts on bees, humans and other organisms are still undiscovered, but I bet they won't be good.</p><p style="">These new findings restate the need to stop all mass-scale systemic pesticide use. Maintaining the status quo means continuing environmentally unsustainable agricultural practices. After all, the latest science also shows that in many cases, neonics provide little or no real benefit to agricultural production. Instead, they decrease soil quality, hurt biodiversity and contaminate water, air and food. They can't even be relied on to decrease farmers' financial risk or assist significantly with crop yields.</p><p>What are governments doing with this information?</p><p>In 2013, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/apr/29/bee-harming-pesticides-banned-europe" target="_blank">the European Union imposed a moratorium</a> on certain uses of three neonics on bee-attractive crops: imidacloprid, clothianidin and thiamethoxam. The EU is now considering extending the moratorium. Meanwhile, the <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/us-france-pesticides/france-moves-toward-full-ban-on-pesticides-blamed-for-harming-bees-idUSKCN0WK1KL" target="_blank">new French biodiversity law</a> aims to ban all neonics starting in September 2018. North American regulators, meanwhile, have failed to recognize the urgent need to prevent neonics from further contaminating the environment.</p><p style="">Health Canada's <a href="https://beta.theglobeandmail.com/life/health-and-fitness/health/health-canada-plans-to-phase-out-controversial-pesticide/article33007048/?ref=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.theglobeandmail.com&amp" target="_blank">Pesticide Management Regulatory Agency</a>; has proposed phasing out one neonic, imidacloprid, but not until 2021 at the earliest—possibly as late as 2023. While industry <a href="http://www.nationalobserver.com/2017/07/25/news/has-ottawa-sold-out-big-agro-and-its-toxic-chemicals" target="_blank">continues to lobby Ottawa</a> to continue using the toxic chemicals, environmental groups are calling for faster phase-out plans and an end to neonic use.</p><p style="">If we care about the quality and security of our food sources—and the species and ecosystems they rely on—the time for neonics is over. Sustainable and affordable agricultural and pest management practices exist. It's time to ban bee-killing pesticides.</p>
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By Jessica Corbett
Raising further concerns about the global food production system, a new study found that bees worldwide are being widely exposed to dangerous agricultural chemicals, with 75 percent of honey samples from six continents testing positive for pesticides known to harm pollinators.
"What this shows is the magnitude of the contamination," the study's lead author, Edward Mitchell, a biology professor at the University of Neuchatel in Switzerland, told the Denver Post. He said there were "relatively few places where we did not find any" contaminated samples.
<p>For the <a href="http://science.sciencemag.org/content/358/6359/109.full" target="_blank">study</a>, published in the journal Science, Mitchell's team of researchers examined nearly 200 samples for the five most commonly used neonicotinoid pesticides or neonics.</p><p>They found:</p><ul class="ee-ul"> <li>in North America, 86 percent of samples from contained one or more neonicotinoid;</li></ul><ul class="ee-ul"> <li>in Asia, 80 percent;</li></ul><ul class="ee-ul"> <li>in Europe (where there is a partial ban), 79 percent;</li></ul><ul class="ee-ul"> <li>in Africa 73 percent;</li></ul><ul class="ee-ul"> <li>in and around Australia, 71 percent;</li></ul><ul class="ee-ul"><li>and in South America, 57 percent.</li></ul><p>Although researchers believe the measured concentrations of neonicotinoids in the tested honey samples are not enough to harm humans, they warn that "a significant detrimental effect on <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/bees">bees</a> is likely for a substantial proportion of the analyzed samples, as adult bees rely on honey for food, including during periods of overwintering or seasons without blossoming flowers."</p><p>Study co-author Alexandre Aebi, also from the University of Neuchatel in Switzerland, <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-41512791" target="_blank">told</a> BBC News that humans "would have to eat an awful lot of honey and other contaminated products to see an effect," but he thinks "it's a warning and it is a call for a precautionary principle."</p><p>Aebi said that he and the other researchers are especially concerned that so many samples contained two or more neonicotinoids. Nearly half of all the honey samples showed more than two types of <span style="background-color: initial;">neonics</span>, and 10 percent had four or more. Overall, more than a third of the samples featured pesticides at levels known to harm bees.</p><p>When <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/pollinators">pollinators</a> such as bees consume pollen and nectar that contains neonicotinoids, they have been <a href="http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2017/10/pesticides-found-honey-around-world" target="_blank">shown</a> to experience learning and memory problems, which can interfere with their ability to gather food. The impact can be so severe that it jeopardizes the health of the entire hive.</p><p>"The increasingly documented sublethal effects of neonicotinoid pesticides at environmentally relevant concentrations on bees," the researchers note, "include growth disorders, reduced efficiency of the immune system, neurological and cognitive disorders, respiratory and reproductive function, queen survival, foraging efficiency," and decreased homing capacity.</p><p>"It is definitely scary for honeybees and other bees and useful insects," Aebi said. "We have up to five molecules in one single sample. From a risk assessment point of view, the evaluation of the risk is made from one single compound in one test organism. So the cocktail is not tested. Mixed effects should be taken seriously."</p><p>The impact on bees of continuing to use these pesticides is expected to have widespread consequences.</p><p>"In 2014, a global assessment of neonicotinoids concluded that their <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/jun/24/insecticides-world-food-supplies-risk" target="_blank">widespread use was putting the global food production system at risk,</a>" the Guardian <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/oct/05/honey-tests-reveal-global-contamination-by-bee-harming-pesticides?CMP=share_btn_tw" target="_blank">noted</a> on Thursday. An updated assessment that is slated to appear in the journal Environmental Science and Pollution Research found even stronger evidence that the insecticides are harmful, and reportedly concludes: "The consequences are far reaching and cannot be ignored any longer."</p><p> <em>Reposted with permission from our media associate <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/10/06/tainted-honey-bee-poisoning-pesticides-found-globally" target="_blank">Common Dreams</a>.</em></p>
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Bees are dying in unsustainable numbers, and this latest study is further evidence that an extremely common pesticide might be behind it. / Flickr
Neonicotinoids, a common and highly controversial class of insecticides linked to catastrophic bee deaths, could be significantly lowering the sperm count of male drone honey bees and cutting their life span by a third, Swiss researchers found.
Researchers from the Institute of Bee Health at the University of Bern, Switzerland discovered that male drone honeybees that ate pollen treated with two popular "neonics"—thiamethoxam and clothianidin—produced nearly 40 percent less sperm than those that did not.
<p>
When sperm from both sets of drones were put under the microscope, the ones treated with neonics<span></span> produced 1.2 million living sperm on average while the control group produced 1.98 million. The authors said that the insecticides "can serve as inadvertent insect contraceptives." A drone's main role is to mate with the queen bee. <span></span>
</p><p>
"While no significant effects were observed for male teneral (newly emerged adult) body mass and sperm quantity, the data clearly showed reduced drone lifespan, as well as reduced sperm viability (percentage living versus dead) and living sperm quantity by 39 percent," the report states.
</p><p>
The results showed, for the first time, that neonicotinoids can negatively affect male insect reproductive capacity. The authors said their study might explain the declining population of wild insect pollinators as well as queen bee failure in managed fields.
</p><p>
"Because queen survival and productivity are intimately connected to successful mating, any influence on sperm quality may have profound consequences for the fitness of the queen, as well as the entire colony," the report said. <br>
</p><p>
Geoffrey Williams, the study's co-author and University of Bernsenior bee researcher, told the <a href="http://staging.hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_SCI_BEE_CONTRACEPTIVE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2016-07-26-20-09-58" target="_blank">Associated Press</a> he does not know how exactly the insecticides might be damaging the sperm, but it seems to be happening after they are produced. <br>
</p><p>
In another alarming discovery, the researchers found that 32 percent of the neonic-exposed drones died before reaching sexual maturity, compared to 17 percent of the unexposed controls. The average lifespan of insecticide drones was around 15 days, significantly lower than controls's lifespan of 22 days. <span></span>
</p><p>
"This could have severe consequences for colony fitness, as well as reduce overall genetic variation within honeybee populations," the authors said.
</p><p>
The <a href="http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/283/1835/20160506" target="_blank">study</a> was published today in the <em>British journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B</em>. <br>
</p><p>
As the Associated Press pointed out, the worrisome population decline of pollinators can come down to a combination of many culprits, such as mites, parasites, disease, pesticides and poor nutrition. However, U.S. Department of Agriculture bee scientist Jeff Pettis, who was not part of the neonicotinoid study, suggested that poor sperm health may account for about a third of the growing crisis. <br>
</p><p>
Neonicotinoid-maker Bayer Crop Science spokesman Jeffrey Donald told the AP that the company will review the study, but in general "artificial exposure to pesticides under lab conditions is not reflective of real-world experience."
</p><p>
Peter Campbell from Syngenta, the maker of thiamethoxam, told the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/jul/27/leading-insecticide-cuts-bee-sperm-by-almost-40-per-cent-study-shows" target="_blank">Guardian</a> that the study was interesting but added, "given the multiple mating of honeybee queens it is unclear what the consequences of a reduction in sperm quality would actually have on queen fecundity."<span></span>
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This latest study adds to the <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/two-new-major-studies-link-pesticides-to-decline-of-honeybees-1882086940.html">mounting scientific evidence</a> that neonicotinoids—which are used on many crops in the U.S.—<span></span>are harmful to pollinators. As Friends of the Earth <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/buzz-kill-how-the-pesticide-industry-blocks-bee-protections-nationwide-1891178052.html" target="_blank">wrote</a>, bees are <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/11-foods-that-would-disappear-without-pollinators-1891180738.html">crucial to food production</a> but are dying at <a href="https://beeinformed.org/2014/05/15/colony-loss-2013-2014/" target="_blank">unsustainable</a> rates, with an unprecedented average of 30 to 40 percent loss of all honeybee colonies each year.</p><p>An <a href="http://webiva-downton.s3.amazonaws.com/877/bf/7/8352/FOE_BuzzKillReport_7_web.pdf" target="_blank">investigation</a> by the environmental group<span></span>, <em>Buzz Kill: How the Pesticide Industry is Clipping the Wings of Bee Protection Efforts Across the U.S.,</em> has found that the pesticide industry is stifling urgently needed reforms that would help these essential pollinators survive and rebuild their numbers.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed"></p><div id="b25f2" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="7GGE341536246083"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="747429542449545216" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">If #pollinators disappear, so will 11 of your favourite foods: https://t.co/aVT65ycUHY via @EcoWatch https://t.co/r3zPoGyOF2</div> — Rainforest Alliance (@Rainforest Alliance)<a href="https://twitter.com/RnfrstAll_UK/statuses/747429542449545216">1467036064.0</a></blockquote></div><p></p>
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