Archives – April, 2015
Editor’s Note: EPA has issued a moratorium on new uses of neonicotinoids despite the recent release of a USDA/EPA study, three years in the making, which demonstrates that neonics are not the cause of bee health decline. It is America’s farmers and consumers, however, who will pay the price for the agency’s baseless action. The following article is from The Guardian (UK) and was orginally posted on the Review of Bee Health Decline here.
Neonicotinoid ban hit UK farmers hard
Bugs devour rapeseed crop in Britain as EU ban on pesticide to save bees comes into force
Louise Gray
April 6, 2015
From: AgriPulse
WASHINGTON, April 2, 2015- A group of 12 senators, mostly Republicans, sent a letter this week to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Gina McCarthy asking her to explain the steps the agency is taking to protect pollinator health, and to consult producers along the way.
“We want to be sure EPA engages grower organizations and other stakeholders most affected by any regulatory review,” the letter signers said.
Read Complete Article
April 3, 2015
From: TVNZ ONE News (New Zealand)
Leaders of the bee industry were given a stinging rebuke at Parliament today during a briefing at the Primary Production select committee.
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‘Varroa the most expensive biosecurity failure’
Regarding other challenges facing the bee industry, Mr Leahy told the select committee that the varroa mite continued to be the biggest problem and “most expensive biosecurity failure” in this country costing around $25 million a year in extra labour and mitigating actions.
Mr Leahy estimated that since varroa had infected New Zealand bees over the past 14 years it had cost the industry around $240 million to control.
April 2, 2015
From: National Monitor
Researchers in the UK have made tiny bee backpacks which allow them to track the foraging of wild honeybees. The hope is that a better understanding of the bees behavior will shed light on what is causing the decline in Europe’s wild bee populations.
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For example, recent reports blamed CCD on pesticides known as neonics. However, a new report by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) reports that neonics are not responsible and that North American domesticated bee populations are stabilizing and even rebounding in some areas. Meanwhile in Europe, where neonics are currently banned, CCD seems to be continuing to affect both domestic and wild bees.
April 1, 2015
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