Bumblebees

The world’s most widely used insecticides harm the ability of bees to vibrate flowers and shake out the pollen to fertilise crops, according to preliminary results from a new study. Some flowers, such as those of crops like tomatoes and potatoes, must be shaken to release pollen and bumblebees are particularly good at creating the buzz needed to do this. But the research shows that bumblebees exposed to realistic levels of a neonicotinoid pesticide fail to learn how to create the greatest buzz and collect less pollen as a result.

Wenn Frank Baum aus Staufen in seinen Garten ging, fehlte es ihm an bunter Gesellschaft. Die Schmetterlinge machten sich rar. Den kleinen Fuchs oder das Tagpfauenauge suchte der Biochemiker vergeblich. Jetzt hat Baum sich zusammen mit anderen Naturschützern an die Landesregierung gewandt, um etwas gegen das Insektensterben zu unternehmen. Sie wollen erreichen, dass bestimmte Pflanzenschutzmittel dauerhaft verboten werden. Ansonsten befürchten sie einen Frühling ohne Schmetterlinge.

The bee findings were not what Syngenta expected to hear. The pesticide giant had commissioned James Cresswell, an expert in flowers and bees at the University of Exeter in England, to study why many of the world’s bee colonies were dying. Companies like Syngenta have long blamed a tiny bug called a varroa mite, rather than their own pesticides, for the bee decline. Dr. Cresswell has also been skeptical of concerns raised about those pesticides, and even the extent of bee deaths. But his initial research in 2012 undercut concerns about varroa mites as well.

O F F E N E R B R I E F
an den Ministerpräsidenten von Baden-Württemberg, Herrn Winfried Kretschmann sowie an die zuständigen Minister der Landesregierung
aus Anlass des drastischen Rückgangs unserer Insektenpopulationen

Sehr geehrter Herr Ministerpräsident,
sehr geehrter Herr Minister Hauk, sehr geehrter Herr Minister Untersteller,

Un anno dopo la scadenza della moratoria biennale sui tre pesticidi neonicotinoidi, l’Efsa, Autorità europea per la sicurezza alimentare, ha emesso un parere sfavorevole su due dei tre prodotti chimici. Clothianidin, imidacloprid (entrambi della Bayer) pongono gravi rischi per le api. Sul terzo, il thiamethoxam (Syngenta), si è ancora in attesa della relazione che dovrebbe però confermare anche in questo caso lo “sconsiglio”.

Uno studio dell’Università di Trento (CIMeC e Dipartimento di Fisica), pubblicato oggi sulla rivista Scientific Reports indaga gli effetti che l’insetticida più usato al mondo (Imidacloprid) anche se presente nell’ambiente in concentrazioni ben al di sotto dei limiti letali, ha un effetto dannoso nel cervello degli insetti. Le ripercussioni rilevate nel cervello delle api riguardano l’ambito della memoria, dell’orientamento e, per la prima volta viene dimostrata anche una connessione con la perdita dell’olfatto.

La Fédération des apiculteurs du Québec applaudit la position de l'Agence de réglementation de la lutte antiparasitaire (ARLA) de Santé Canada, pour laquelle l'usage actuel de l'imidaclopride « ne peut durer ». La réévaluation par le ministère fédéral de ce pesticide de la famille des néonicotinoïdes a confirmé ses effets extrêmement nocifs pour les cours d'eau et les nappes phréatiques, pour les insectes dont se nourrissent les poissons et plusieurs mammifères, et pour les abeilles et les autres pollinisateurs.

The first time Clay Bolt saw the rusty patched bumblebee was in the invertebrate collection at Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The nature photographer was being shown around the collection by a park entomologist, who led him to a pinned specimen of Bombus affinis, no bigger than the tip of your thumb. The bee looked similar to others Bolt had seen as part of his project to photograph native bees, except for an amber-colored patch on its second abdominal section. Yet he was immediately drawn to its plight.

German Entomology Experts sound the Alarm over the accelerating loss of bees and insect species and demand immediate government action. In particular the entomologists are concerned over the massive decline in wild bee populations; Entire landscapes which are completely devoid of pollinating insects: this nightmare situation is already a reality in China. In Sezchuan, pears, apples, plums and almonds have to be pollinated by human hands, because all the bees are dead; in a few years, unless urgent action is taken, this could happen in Germany.