Honeybee Blog

UK Parlia. Chair: "...serious questions...EU pesticides regulation...

Kevin Hansen — Sat, 15 Dec 2012 22:09:20 +0000

Great article in the Guardian by Damian Carrington:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/dec/12/mps-insecticide-regula...

Quoted by Joan Walley MP, chair of the Environmental Audit Committee (EAC).

"European regulators seem to have turned a blind eye to data on the danger that one of the world's biggest selling pesticides could pose to bees and other pollinators," said Joan Walley MP, chair of the Environmental Audit Committee (EAC). "Evidence seen by the committee raises serious questions about the integrity, transparency and effectiveness of EU pesticides regulation. Data available in the regulators' own assessment report shows it could be 10 times more persistent in soils than the European safety limit."

Quoted by Prof Dave Goulson, an ecologist at the University of Stirling

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UK Parliament Holds Hearings on Honeybee Collapse

Kevin Hansen — Sun, 09 Dec 2012 18:05:34 +0000

The UK Parliament's Environmental Audit Committee held several days of hearings on insecticides, bee collapse, regulatory responses and industry actions.

I have attached the original transcripts of the testimony.

Video of the Hearings:
http://www.parliamentlive.tv/Main/Player.aspx?meetingId=11954

Raw Transcripts of the 28-Nov-2012 hearings - see other days testimony also:
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201213/cmselect/cmenvaud/uc66...

Media:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/damian-carrington-blog/2012/oct/22...

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Canada: Fetuses Have Widespread Pesticide Residues

Kevin Hansen — Sun, 09 Dec 2012 17:39:03 +0000

Pesticides associated to genetically modified foods (PAGMF), are engineered to tolerate herbicides such as glyphosate (GLYP) and gluphosinate (GLUF) or insecticides such as the bacterial toxin bacillus thuringiensis (Bt). The aim of this study was to evaluate the correlation between maternal and fetal exposure, and to determine exposure levels of GLYP and its metabolite aminomethyl phosphoric acid (AMPA), GLUF and its metabolite 3-methylphosphinicopropionic acid (3-MPPA) and Cry1Ab protein (a Bt toxin) in Eastern Townships of Quebec, Canada. Blood of thirty pregnant women (PW) and thirty-nine nonpregnant women (NPW) were studied. Serum GLYP and GLUF were detected in NPW and not detected in PW. Serum 3-MPPA and CryAb1 toxin were detected in PW, their fetuses and NPW. This is the first study to reveal the presence of circulating PAGMF in women with and without pregnancy, paving the way for a new field in reproductive toxicology including nutrition and utero-placental toxicities.

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Create a Honey Bee Haven!

Kevin Hansen — Sun, 19 Aug 2012 00:38:41 +0000

There is a wonderful new program by Pesticide Action Network that appears very helpful for bees, pollinators and habitat:

Honey Bee Haven:

http://www.honeybeehavens.com/content/honey-bee-toolkit?utm_source=actio...

Download the Honey Bee Haven Toolkit:
http://www.panna.org/sites/default/files/BeeToolkit_Reduced_0.pdf

Cheers,
Kevin

Three More Countries Restrict Bee-Killing Nicotine Pesticides

Kevin Hansen — Sat, 04 Aug 2012 20:41:50 +0000

Three more countries have put additional pressure on nicotine pesticides, one of the leading suspects in the global honey bee die-offs:

Canada has asked for most of the nicotine pesticides to be re-evaluated - this is a huge step that slows pesticide manufacturers:
http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/cps-spc/pubs/pest/_decisions/rev2012-02/index-eng...

Brazil (Brasil) has forced Monsanto to pay about $7.5 BILLION in fines because its nicotine-pesticide-coated and GMO soya/soybeans were being used to force farmers not to save their own seeds - while paying a punitive 2% tax. Brazil's supreme court took action to protect farmers' rights to save seeds - and also restrict toxic seeds:
http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=15747

France has banned Syngenta's canola/rapeseed brand because of honeybee losses to this toxic product. This ban was upheld by French courts:
http://www.farming.co.uk/news/article/6767

Locations

Canada

See map: Google Maps

Brazil

See map: Google Maps

France

Bee-Killing Nicotine Pesticide Illegally Registered in US - One Million+ Sign Emergency Petition

Kevin Hansen — Sat, 24 Mar 2012 23:14:32 +0000

A remarkable emergency petition with over one million signatures has been submitted to the USEPA requesting the withdrawal of the pesticide clothianidin - a nicotine-based systemic pesticide widely used on corn/maize. Multiple activist organizations participated, lead by major US beekeepers.

The basis of the petition is that the USEPA's legal requirements for the demonstrated safety of clothianidin were never proven - and subsequent findings have shown its damages - violating the US law FIFRA, which governs the registration process for pesticides.

A coalition of beekeepers and activists gained over one million signatures on this petition, that walks step-by-step through the reasoning behind the proposed determination of the clothianidin registration's illegality - used as the basis for the withdrawal request.

This is fantastic.

http://www.beyondpesticides.org/pollinators/CFS-Clothianidin-Petition-3-...

Please pass this link to whomever you think might benefit.

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Honeybee Dieoff Link to Corn Planting Process - Italy Researchers

Kevin Hansen — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 02:09:57 +0000

The process of planting can release large amounts of pesticides coated on seeds - as dust. Corn/maize is widely treated with a coating laced with toxins: neonicotinoid pesticides, fungicides and a host of other substances are physically stuck to the grains of corn. This is a brittle substance that breaks off and creates a large dust problem - a toxic dust.

The team of researchers at the University of Padua, Italy, led by Andrea Tapparo has found significant mortality to honeybees as a result of this exposure. This was closely related to the spring-planting die-off blamed in Germany for a honeybee catastrophe several years ago.

This article is accepted - and will be published in the American Chemical Society's (ACS) journal "Environmental Science and Technology."

We have read a pre-print - look for this one to be downloadable soon.

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