Archives – August, 2016
From: Washington State University | Tri-Cities
By Maegan Murray, WSU Tri-Cities
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The team of WSU entomologists studied apiaries in urban, rural and agricultural areas in Washington state, looking at potential honey bee colony exposure to neonicotinoid insecticides from pollen foraging. The results were published in the Journal of Economic Entomology (http://jee.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2016/01/19/jee.tov397) this spring.
After calculating the risk based on a “dietary no observable adverse effect concentration” – the highest experimental point before there is an adverse effect on a species – of five parts per billion, the study’s results suggest low potential for neonicotinoids to harm bee behavior or colony health.
August 16, 2016
From: Apis Information Resource Center
The Varroa bee mite (Varroa jacobsoni) was first discovered by A.C. Oudemans in 1904, as a parasite of the Asian honey bee, Apis cerana. In the late 1940s, Through movement of the western honey bee, Apis mellifera, colonies into and out of Asia, Varroa mite became established on honey bees first in Africa and then in Europe. Quickly, it spread around the world. It was first detected in the U.S. in 1987; Mexico and Canada quickly closed their borders to U.S. bees. Varroa has now been in the U.S. for over two decades and a robust history exists published in two parts: 1 and 2.
August 16, 2016
From: FreshPlaza.com
Australia’s horticulture research and development corporation has combined forces with Plant & Food Research New Zealand to strengthen Australia’s defences against Varroa mite and enhance crop pollination through a $5 million targeted research project.
Horticulture Innovation Australia Chief Executive John Lloyd said: “Australia is the last known inhabited continent in the world that is not permeated by Varroa mite, and as recent Queensland Varroa Jacobsini mite discoveries have shown, the threat is very real.
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August 15, 2016
From: nrt3 | News Real Time Analysis
The “Bee-pocalypse” has been cancelled. Global bee populations are rising and are now near historic highs. In Canada, the bee populations are up 13 percent since 2011, from 637,920 colonies to 721,106 in 2015. While there are serious threats to bees, we assert that the use of neonicotinoid pesticides (or neonics) in agriculture is not one of them. Continued focus on neonics by environmental groups detracts from and potentially worsens real threats to bees.
Neonic pesticides are synthetic compounds based on the natural compound nicotine. They have been widely used since the mid 1990’s. They have low toxicity to birds and mammals but insects are extremely sensitive to their effects.
August 15, 2016
From: ABC News
By Nancy Notzon
Photo: Biosecurity Queensland hopes the devices will help draw in the bees. (ABC News: Nancy Notzon)
The fight to eradicate the Asian honey bee threat in north Queensland is taking a more creative twist — using helium balloons booby trapped with pheromones to attract the unwanted pest.
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It comes two months after Asian honey bees carrying varroa mites were discovered in a hive at the city’s port.
Varroa mites are mainly found in the northern regions of Asia and they infest bee hives, feeding on larvae and ultimately killing them.
August 12, 2016
From: AgWeek
By Reuters Media
LONDON – The wheat area in England for this year’s harvest rose 0.3 percent to 1.70 million hectares but rapeseed plantings fell by 10.6 percent to 546,000 hectares, Britain’s farm ministry said on Thursday issuing provisional results of its June survey.
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Traders and analysts had said the decline in rapeseed area has been driven by weak margins and increased risks associated with growing the crop partly linked to a ban on a class of insecticides known as neonicotinoids.
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August 11, 2016
From: Garden Center Magazine
The money will fund research aimed at expanding nutritious forage and more
WASHINGTON, DC and COLUMBUS, OH— Over $2.8 million was awarded toward pollinator protection in ornamental horticulture through the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) Specialty Crop Research Initiative (SCRI). The funds will be distributed over a period of two years, with additional funds available over a total five year period, to a collaboration of researchers facilitated by Dr. Cristi Palmer, IR-4 Project.
August 10, 2016
From: Financial Post | FP Comment
Bill Crabtree and Robert Wager, Special to Financial Post
The “Bee-pocalypse” has been cancelled. Global bee populations are rising and are now near historic highs. In Canada, the bee populations are up 13 per cent since 2011. While there are serious threats to bees, neonicotinoid pesticides (or neonics) in agriculture is not one of them. Continued focus on neonics by environmental groups detracts from and potentially worsens real threats to bees.
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August 9, 2016
From: The Risk Monger
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EU agriculture policy: How lost are we?
The EU’s use of the precautionary principle on agricultural technologies is a bad, broken compass. How far lost are we? The EU went from being a region producing food surpluses to a trade zone that can no longer feed itself. Banning most GMO production, the EU is forced to import GM feed in order to raise livestock. The recent precautionary moves on neonicotinoids and now glyphosate means that certain insect infestations like the cabbage stem flea beetle, and the inability to efficiently control weeds, will further reduce agricultural yields.
August 8, 2016
From: Science 2.0
A lot of environmental fundraising and lobbying has involved bees. There was talk of a neonicotinoid pesticide-induced die-off, until it was determined that pesticides weren’t the problem, varroa mites, and the fad of amateur beekeepers who didn’t know what they were doing were the big problems. Traffic accidents killed more bees than chemicals.
When that failed, activists turned to claims about wild bees. This would seem to have easier success, since wild bees can’t really be tabulated. There are over 25,000 species of wild bees worldwide, and only a few have hives to count.
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August 8, 2016
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