Bee-harming pesticides banned in Europe

Where I live in North Carolina, the bee population is doing fine, I am a beekeeper, and do attend the local monthly State Beekeepers Association meetings. There is a vested interest in agriculture here, and the County does work with farmers and the agenda the farmers must use herbicides, and occasionally pesticides. The bee's can be 'locked up' during these time frames simply by blocking the hive entrance's with a device, a simple 1/2 x 1/2 stick. This effectively closes the hive. The bees will maintain a well cared for hive during these 'lock-ups'. The county sets up spray times, in different areas solely to protect the insect populations. It's my opinion that us hillbillys are very progressive here in the Carolina's, daspite outsiders opinion of wee'uns redneck inbread, hibbly ways. That's alright, we all just smile and go about our business when outsiders com a raggin on us.

Now if they would just smarten up in this country. Seems that Europe is way ahead of the US in banning things that are harmful to our existance. The US allows lots of things without doing adequate research. I research WHO along with American College research and rarely study testing by the FDA because they don't test hardly anything. They require third party testing by companies that usually derive their income from Big corporations. The fact that they are getting their money from the same company who's product they are testing doesn't make sense. Continued business is dependent on desirable results. Another thing in America, the parameters of the testing exclude most unknown problems. Testing is done on known pathogens and on a short term basis. In the case of bees, there is a neglect of sociological issues so until now the hive disorders were not investigated and interactions with other chemicals that are not of the same corporation is ignored. Even interactions with fertilizers. which these chemical companies don't produce, is often ignored.

reply to post by Plotus


That protects your hives bees. Do we have to go block the doors on a natural bees hive near our home when they are spraying? I like bees, they have a very important job here on earth. We need diversity, a whole genetic line of bees can be wiped out by a single disease.

Now after this goes into effect lets see if it has a large impact on colony collapse. I wonder how long it will take for the bee population to begin to rebound if this was in fact the cause of all the cases of colony collapse. Keeping my fingers crossed that this has huge beneficial impact on the bee keepers in Europe.

If this proves to be the problem, I hope it isn't long before the US adopts a similar law banning the use of neonicotinoids in pesticides as well.

ABOUT TIME!!!

'Victory for bees' as European Union bans neonicotinoid pesticides blamed for destroying bee population

Neo Neo

Look up all my posts. I scream about Neonicotinoids all the time. We eat this # being 90% of all corn crops are coated with a neonicotinoid gel which in return, when the plant grows, the plant can then produce more neonicotinoids within, even the plants pollen has neonicotinoids and this is what is killing bees. The pollen from plants that have neonicotinoids in it spread and can "infect" other plants and also mutates them into producing neonicotinoids.

Neonicotinoids have been links to cancer in rabbits, sheep, pigs and cows. There is no study for the effects neonicotinoids has on humans. All I know is it is NOT GOOD FOR YOU.

More than 30 separate scientific studies have found a link between the neonicotinoids, which attack insects' nerve systems, and falling bee numbers. The proposal by European Commission - the EU's legislative body - to ban the insecticides was based on a study by the European Food Safety Authority, which found in January that the pesticides did pose a risk to bees' health.

The issue has fiercely divided the scientific community. Green groups and some scientists say the effects of the neonicotinoids are particularly devastating as the pesticide is applied to the seeds. That means it is present not only in the leaves which the insects eat, but also the pollen.

reply to post by rickymouse

That poses a problem if the hive is in a hollowed out tree or rather in a natural setting. And care should be used approaching wild bee's because you could stumble upon Africanized bees by accident or unwittingly. One could use a suit and smoke and wrap or contain the hive possibly if you could cover it sufficiently, I sheet and duct tape wrapping the hive area, something as a containment barrier. Wild hives you stumble upon are usually domestic bees that have Swarmed (divided a hive due to population crowding) and flown off to any structure that would provide protection from the elements. And that could be anything.

In these cases you have to be creative, and most often calling a County Agricultural office Agent will put you in touch with a beekeeper. Most often bee keepers are jazzed to come out and retrieve a swarmed or wild hive. Usually at no cost.

this has to be a throw off! cause we are on the right track.Bees play a very important role in our eco system
he who controls the bees in the usa
controls the bees in eu

YAY for the bee's. As a big fan of honey, I am glad we will continue to have it. instead of the bee's dying out and you know, the entire food chain collapsing and all humanity starving to death!!

Good!! I can't say that I've seen many bees over the last several year, the wasps seem to be taking over completely!!

I didn't realise that it was the insecticides causing the lack of bees though, I was told that it was the fact that whenever it gets warm we get frost a couple of days later and all the bees freeze