Overige insecten

Mundo contaminado - Contaminated World

Insects are unsung heroes of our ecosystem, pollinating our food (and that of many of our farm animals) and many of the trees that enable us to breathe. They provide food for birds and mammals, all of which play a role in the food chain, supporting the web of life on earth. We are witnessing a general decline of many insects. The decline of our pollinators is the most serious facing mankind, and cannot be underestimated. It is so serious, that the effects specifically of pesticides on the insect population, should not be ignored. Drawing on his own research using the Druckrey–Küpfmüller equation, as well as other research, such as the contamination of surface water with neonicotinoids and the arthropod and bird populations, the Dutch toxicologist Henk Tennekes concludes that these pesticides are linked to an ecological collapse of insects (including bees), the birds that feed upon insects, or the seeds or fruits from plants pollinated by them. He concludes that even minute quantities are harmful to insects.

Het gaat niet alleen over bijen, dit gaat over alle kleine dingetjes die de wereld laten draaien

In de afgelopen vijf jaar of zo begonnen op veel plaatsen bestuivers, honingbijen in het bijzonder, te verdwijnen en zijn regeringen wakker geschud over het probleem, omdat bestuiving miljarden waard is. In feite zijn insecten zoals vlinders, motten, hommels en haften al een lange tijd aan het verdwijnen hoewel bijna niemand, behalve specialisten, het hebben opgemerkt of er bezorgd over waren. Hun neergang begon een halve eeuw geleden met de introductie van pesticiden en andere chemicaliën in de landbouw. Maar de daling is in de afgelopen tien jaar in snelheid toegenomen met de introductie van systemische insecticiden zoals de neonicotinoïden die in alle delen van de plant worden opgenomen, inclusief het stuifmeel en nectar die bestuivende insecten verzamelen.

In zijn boek “The Systemic Insecticides – A Disaster In The Making” stelt de Nederlandse toxicoloog Henk Tennekes dat neonicotinoïden nu in een groot deel van het oppervlaktewater van Nederland aanwezig zijn, insecten uitroeit en in het hele land tot een daling van insectenetende vogels leidt. Als we bezorgd zijn over de kleine dingetjes die de wereld laten draaien, moeten we wakker worden over wat nu hun grootste bedreiging kan worden.

Henk Tennekes: De neonicotinoiden zullen een natuurramp veroorzaken

Al jaren bestudeert de toxicoloog Henk Tennekes wat de mogelijke gevolgen zijn van bepaalde insecticiden, de zogenaamde neonicotinoïden, op flora en fauna. Deze insecticiden worden niet verstoven, maar bijvoorbeeld toegevoegd aan zaadcoatings of in de bodem. Ze kunnen vervolgens migreren naar de bloem en daar door insecten worden opgenomen. De massale afname van bijenvolken wijt Tennekes hier bijvoorbeeld aan, maar ook watervlooien en libelles hebben last van het goedje. Keer op keer waarschuwt hij de overheid dat zij maatregelen moeten nemen tegen bijvoorbeeld de toepassing van imidacloprid, maar desondanks blijven die maatregelen uit. Nu publiceert Tennekes voor een breder publiek informatie over dit onderwerp in een prachtig uitgevoerd boek.

Michael McCarthy: This isn't just about bees – it affects everything

Edward O Wilson, America's greatest naturalist, called invertebrates – the insects, the spiders, the worms, the snails and all their fellows – "the little things that run the world". In the past five years or so, pollinators, honeybees in particular, have started to vanish in many places, and governments have woken up to the problem, as pollination is worth billions. In fact, insects such as butterflies, moths, bumblebees and mayflies have been disappearing for a long time, although hardly anyone except specialists has noticed or cared. Their decline began half a century ago with the introduction of pesticides and other agricultural chemicals. But the decline has gathered pace over the past decade with the introduction of systemic insecticides such as the neonicotinoids, which are absorbed into every part of the plant, including the pollen and nectar which pollinating insects collect. It is too simple to say that one has caused the other, but the link is being made. In his book The Systemic Insecticides – A Disaster In The Making, the Dutch toxicologist Henk Tennekes argues that neonicotinoids are now present in much of Holland's surface water, killing off aquatic insects and leading to a decline in insect-eating birds across the country.

UK House of Commons Early Day Motion to Ban Neonicotinoids

Text of the Early Day Motion EDM 1267 lodged by Caton, Martin
IMPACT OF NEONICOTINOID PESTICIDES ON BEES AND OTHER INVERTEBRATES
13.01.2011

That this House is gravely concerned by the contents of a recently leaked memo from the US Environment Protection Agency whose scientists warn that bees and other non-target invertebrates are at risk from a new neonicotinoid pesticide and that tests in the US approval process are insufficient to detect the environmental damage caused; acknowledges that these findings reflect the conclusions of a 2009 `Buglife' report that identified similar inadequacies in the European approval regime with regard to neonicotinoids; notes reports that bee populations have soared in four European countries that have banned these chemicals; and therefore calls on the Government to act urgently to suspend all existing approvals for products containing neonicotinoids and fipronil pending more exhaustive tests and the development of international methodologies for properly assessing the long-term effects of systemic pesticides on invertebrate populations.

Largest National Insect Study Reveals Major Changes to UK Wildlife

The newly-published Provisional Atlas of the UK’s Larger Moths contains up-to-date maps showing the distributions of 868 moth species, many of which have never been published before. Initial findings from the huge data set include a pattern of considerable decline among some common moth species. These species include the Lappet moth, an amazing species that looks like a leaf and has a ‘snout’ that resembles a leaf stalk. This creature used to be common across central and southern England but has retreated to a few strongholds. Another once-widespread moth, the Stout Dart, now appears to be on the brink of extinction. Scarcer moths have also suffered serious declines, including the Wood Tiger, Broad-bordered Bee Hawk-moth, GoldSwift, Dew Moth, Light Feathered Rustic and Silvery Arches. Moths make up a substantial portion of the UK’s biodiversity and their caterpillars are a vital part of the food chain for many birds and other wildlife.

Silent skies

Why is it that birds are falling from the skies, their numbers crashing in mass extinctions? Henk Tennekes has an answer: He cites evidence in his book that the species suffering dramatic losses (mostly out of public view) in the past two decades -- sparrows, swifts, starlings, and many other insectivores -- are struggling to find food; insects such as beetles, springtails, and earthworms are being wiped out by neonicotinoid insecticides, chiefly imidacloprid and clothianidin.

"The excessive imidacloprid levels noted in surface water of ... [places] with intensive agriculture have been associated with insect decline and [subsequently] a dramatic decline of common grassland birds."

The author, a toxicologist in the Netherlands, documents the threat neonicotinoids pose, even at very low levels, their mode of action similar to that of chemical carcinogens. These persistent nerve poisons, applied since 1991 as systemic seed and soil treatments, cause ecological damage in two major ways: They kill insects of all kinds by devastating their nervous systems, and they migrate from soil into waterways, then dispersing throughout local ecosystems.

Bird deaths: the fallout

It’s biblical, it’s big news and it’s giving plenty of fodder to conspiracy theorists. But are mass deaths of wildlife an early warning sign of the damage humankind is doing to the planet? When thousands of birds fall out of the sky – as they’ve been doing across the world this last week – it’s eerie to say the least.

But the mass bird deaths may not be just a freak of nature; they could be an indication of how we’ve poisoned our planet.

Birds are disappearing and dying off en masse across the world because the insects on which they depend for vital protein are being wiped out by toxic pesticides, according to new scientific evidence.

U.S. Bee Culture Magazine's Review of Henk Tennekes' Book "Disaster in the Making"

It is notable that this book and information on the scandal at EPA regarding registration of Bayer’s clothianidin become available at about the same time. EPA, brought on the carpet for grossly mishandling the registration due process of this chemical in part because of information first published in Bee Culture by Tom Theobald in July, certainly has some ‘splainin to do on their process, and the bureaucratic rug they swept their mess under when they allowed Bayer free rein with this deadly cocktail. And Bayer, too, has some ‘splainin to do on their gross negligence on performing even the minimum testing for honey bee safety before they even got a conditional registration from EPA seven years ago. It was, as Tom says, research fraud at its best. There are some beekeepers in this country that are convinced that this chemical, and others like it are closely associated with CCD. There’s evidence to support that. Dr. Tennekes would probably agree. His slim book catalogs a tragedy of monumental proportions regarding the loss of the insect-feeding (invertebrate-dependent) bird populations in all environments in the Netherlands. And he ties the disappearance to agriculture generally, and the neonicotinoid insecticide imidacloprid in particular. Clothianidin is no different, he says. He brings together the disasters of surface water contamination and the decline of nearly all life forms associated with that resource, but then he also includes the decline of insect feeding woodland birds in Britain, the Low Countries, Germany, Switzerland, and France. It is a telling, and gruesome story. The insects are gone. And now, so are the birds. The question is...what, or maybe who, is next?

Soil-Applied Imidacloprid Is Translocated to Nectar and Kills Nectar-Feeding Parasitoids

Behavior was altered and survivorship was reduced when parasitoids, Anagyrus pseudococci (Girault) (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae), were fed flowers from buckwheat, Fagopyrum esculentum L. (Polygonaceae), treated with soil applications of imidacloprid (Marathon 1% G). Parasitoids at 1 d had significantly reduced survivorship of 38 ± 6.7% on label rate and 17 ± 4.2% on twice label rate compared with 98 ± 1.2% on untreated flowers. Parasitoids trembled 88% on label rate and 94% on twice label rate compared with 0% on untreated flowers.