Insecticides

The proverbial clock may well be ticking down on many common species of aerial insectivores in Canada

The guild of ‘aerial insectivores’ – birds that specialize on feeding on flying insects – includes Whip-poor-wills Caprimulgus vociferus, nighthawks, swifts, swallows, martins, and flycatchers. Early results from the second Ontario Breeding Bird Atlas indicated some startling declines and even range contractions for this guild. The magnitude of the declines, especially within the past 20 years or so, is alarming.

Beekeepers Marisa Valente and Renato Bologna on Hunger Strike in Turin

The Italian couple Marisa Valente and Renato Bologna have declared a 'Hunger Strike' to the death since July 4th in the City of Turin. They created an Apitherapy bee-business in the late 1980s on the borders of a National Park in the Asti region of Italy. It was, they say, 'a paradise for bees' and for a decade they made a good living selling honey, pollen and Royal Jelly. Then, in the late 1990s, the grape-growers of this wine region began using Neonicotinoids. Their bees began to die as they lost 20% of their hives in the winter, then 40% - and finally 80% in 2010. They stand to lose their business, their income, their home and their land - so they decided to go on Hunger Strike outside the Italian Ministry of Agriculture in Turin.

Durch die Pestizide findet der Gartenrotschwanz keine Nahrung mehr in unseren Gärten

Rostrote Brust, weiße Stirn und ein ziegelroter Schwanz - der Gartenrotschwanz Phoenicurus phoenicurus ist auffällig und nicht zu verwechseln. Zu sehen ist der Vogel des Jahres inzwischen nur noch selten. "Dieser starke Rückgang hat in den 50er Jahren begonnen", beklagt Christian Venne, der sich um den Vogel sorgt. Der 36-Jährige kennt sich aus, denn er ist Diplom-Biologe und arbeitet bei der Biologischen Station Senne. "Davor war der Gartenrotschwanz einer der am häufigsten vorkommenden Gartenvögel", sagt er, "so wie heute die Amsel." Die Gründe für das Verschwinden des farbenprächtigen Vogels kennt er genau: "Zum einen hat sich die Landwirtschaft bei uns sehr verändert", erzählt Christian Venne, "früher haben die Gartenrotschwänze häufig an den Höfen gelebt. Heute ist die Landwirtschaft viel intensiver, es gibt hauptsächlich Mastbetriebe." "Die gefallen dem Vogel natürlich nicht", ergänzt Bernd Jellinghaus, der Sprecher der Ornithologie im Naturschutzbund (Nabu) Nordrhein-Westfalen. "Denn dort werden immer mehr Pestizide verwendet."

Henk Tennekes' Presentation to Dutch Pesticide Board Committee on the Risk Profile of Neonicotinoids for Arthropods

The Dutch toxicologist Henk Tennekes was invited to give a presentation on the risk profile of neonicotinoid insecticides for arthropods to committee members of the Dutch Board for the Authorisation of Plant Protection Products and Biocides (Ctgb). An English version of the presentation, which took place on 25 May 2011 at the Bee House in Wageningen, The Netherlands, is attached. Attached also is an article on the influence of Bayer Cropscience on Dutch policy makers (which appeared in the magazine "Vrij Nederland" on April 4, 2012).

Entomologist Joop C. van Lenteren (Wageningen University): 'Most farmers have become pesticide addicted during the past 60 years'

During the past 120 years, a large number of natural enemies has been collected and evaluated for use in augmentative biological control programmes. Particularly during the last 30 years many efficient species have been identified and currently at least 230 species are commercially available globally. Today, the commercial biological control industry is well organized, has developed mass production, shipment and release methods as well as adequate guidance for farmers. The industry has intensively collaborated with the public research sector in design of quality control programmes, which are applied during natural enemy production and shipment. The industry also cooperated in preparing environmental risk assessment methods for biological control agents. In several areas of agriculture augmentative biological control has obtained considerable successes and is now a reliable and appreciated element of IPM programmes. Despite all this progress, augmentative biological control is applied on a frustratingly small acreage.

Low hybrid onion seed yields relate to honey bee visits and insecticide use

Onion thrips, previously considered of minor importance to hybrid onion seed production in California, vector the newly introduced iris yellow spot virus, a serious pathogen of onions that can cause significant yield losses. Insecticide use to control onion thrips has increased in onion seed fields, coincident with a steep decrease in yields, especially in Colusa County. We found a strong positive correlation between honey bee activity and onion seed set, indicating that a lack of pollination may be contributing to the reduced yields. In addition, honey bee visits to onion flowers were negatively correlated with the number of insecticides applied per field and field size. Reduced onion seed yields in recent years could be associated with the increase in insecticide use, which may be repelling or killing honey bees, important pollinators of this crop.

Veel gewasbeschermingsmiddelen veroorzaken normoverschrijdingen in het oppervlaktewater

Na het meten op 630 punten, treffen de waterschappen van Noordoost-Nederland 60 procent van de gebruikte gewasbeschermingsmiddelen in het water aan. Daarvan overschrijdt 40 procent van de middelen de norm.

Onder de meest aangetroffen stoffen horen onder meer Metribuzin, Metolachoor, Imidacloprid, Dimethoaat en Azoxystrobin. „De stoffen zijn vooral schadelijk voor het waterleven", zegt Michiel Oudendijk van Waterschap Zuiderzeeland. „Daarnaast maakt de vervuiling het zuiveren van het water voor drinkwater een kostbare zaak."

The relationship between yellowhammer breeding performance, arthropod abundance and insecticide applications on arable farmland

We studied nesting yellowhammers Emberiza citrinella on a lowland arable farm in North Yorkshire between 2001 and 2003, to examine the effects of food abundance on breeding success and the effects of insecticide on food abundance.

Arthropod abundances around individual nests were sampled and the timing and location of insecticide applications were recorded. Nestling condition and mass on day 6 after hatching were positively correlated with the abundance of arthropods important in the diet of nestling yellowhammers. Greater mean body mass and condition corresponded with a lower incidence of brood reduction. The abundance of arthropods important in the diet of nestling yellowhammers increased between mid-May and the end of July. However, arthropod samples collected within 20 days of an insecticide application did not show this seasonal increase in abundance and were depressed at levels likely to affect yellowhammer breeding performance adversely.

Oproep tot onderzoek naar het effect van imidacloprid op het IQ van de mens

Een onderzoek naar het effect van langjarige consumptie van minieme doses imidacloprid op het IQ van de mens is ’wenselijk’. Vijf wetenschappers ondersteunen de oproep van toxicoloog dr. ir. Henk Tennekes. Het gaat om dr. Gert van der Laan (AMC - klinische arbeidskunde in relatie met neuropsychologie), Henk .J. Vlug (insectendeskundige), dr. Paul Harrewijn (wis- en natuurkundige, medicus en ex-onderzoeker Wageningen) en prof.dr. Jeroen van der Sluis (senior-onderzoeker nieuwe risico’s UU en professor in Versailles). Prof.dr. Lucas Reijnders (emeritus milieukunde) wil ook onderzoek, maar dan rechtstreeks met proefdieren.

Imidacloprid has a negative impact on soil bacterial diversity and upsets soil microbial balance

The current study was conducted to evaluate the effects of imidacloprid on soil microbial diversity. The results clearly showed that imidacloprid has significant negative impact on soil bacterial diversity in highly polluted farms and soil microbial balance has been gradually upset by application of more pesticide.