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Governments Fail to Act on Pesticide Threat to Honeybee Pollinators
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Environment; Posted on: 2012-10-21 20:57:47 [ Printer friendly / Instant flyer ]
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J. D. Heyes
Editor's note: The USDA approved neonicotinoid insecticides about a decade ago. These are systemic insecticides that are incorporated into all of a plant's tissues, including the pollen. These have been instrumental in reducing crop losses in cucurbit family crops that can contract bacterial wilt disease from just a single bite by an infected cucumber beetle.
Even so, there is extremely strong evidence that these insecticides are responsible for colony collapse disorder in honeybees. This is not surprising as the insecticide is in the pollen.
It is also not surprising that a federal agency long slavishly devoted to the industries it allegedly regulates would be hesitant to take action. After all, corporate profits for this quarter are far more important than the earth's honeybees. And who cares if billions starve due to lack of pollinators? Color me disgusted.
A noted environmental writer for a top British newspaper is questioning why governments aren't doing more to protect honeybee pollinators from a pesticide that is dramatically thinning the numbers of queen bees in many hives.
Damian Carrington, of The Guardian, has written recently that a growing body of evidence indicates that common crop pesticides "have been shown for the first time to seriously harm bees by damaging their renowned ability to navigate home."
This new research indicates there is a strong link between the pesticides and a dramatic decline in the numbers of honey bees both in the United States and United Kingdom to the tune of about 50 percent in the last 25 years alone.
"The losses pose a threat to food supplies as bees pollinate a third of the food we such as tomatoes, beans, apples and strawberries," he wrote.
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