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  • From: "Lawrence F. London, Jr." <venaurafarm@bellsouth.net>
  • To: permaculture <permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org>, Market Farming <marketfarming@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: [permaculture] Fwd: [SANET-MG] Why are EPA and USDA dithering on the removal of neonicotinoid insecticides from the market?
  • Date: Fri, 21 Jan 2011 12:16:51 -0500

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: [SANET-MG] Why are EPA and USDA dithering on the removal of neonicotinoid insecticides from the market?
Date: Thu, 20 Jan 2011 17:45:50 -0500
From: joe cummins <jcummins@UWO.CA>
To: SANET-MG@LISTS.IFAS.UFL.EDU

The neonicotinoid insecticides should have been banned years ago to
prevent irreversible loss o honey and bumble bees. USDA scientists find
evidence that the insecticides interact with fungal parasites to cause
CCD. Why are EPA and USDA dithering on the removal of neonicotinoid
insecticides from the market?
In The Strange Disappearance of The Bees, made by the American
film-maker Mark Daniels, Pettis (from USDA) and van Engelsdorp reveal
that they exposed two groups of bees to the well-known bee disease
nosema. One of the groups was also fed tiny doses of imidacloprid. There
was a higher uptake of infection in the bees fed the insecticide, even
though it could not subsequently be detected, which raises the
possibility that such a phenomenon occurring in the wild might be simply
undetectable.
A French study is described below.
Environ Microbiol. 2010 Mar;12(3):774-82. Epub 2009 Dec 27.
Interactions between Nosema microspores and a neonicotinoid weaken
honeybees (Apis mellifera).
Alaux C, Brunet JL, Dussaubat C, Mondet F, Tchamitchan S, Cousin M,
Brillard J, Baldy A, Belzunces LP, Le Conte Y.
INRA, UMR 406 Abeilles et Environnement, Laboratoire Biologie et
Protection de l'abeille, Site Agroparc, 84914 Avignon, France.
cedric.alaux@avignon.inra.fr
Abstract
Global pollinators, like honeybees, are declining in abundance and
diversity, which can adversely affect natural ecosystems and
agriculture. Therefore, we tested the current hypotheses describing
honeybee losses as a multifactorial syndrome, by investigating
integrative effects of an infectious organism and an insecticide on
honeybee health. We demonstrated that the interaction between the
microsporidia Nosema and a neonicotinoid (imidacloprid) significantly
weakened honeybees. In the short term, the combination of both agents
caused the highest individual mortality rates and energetic stress. By
quantifying the strength of immunity at both the individual and social
levels, we showed that neither the haemocyte number nor the
phenoloxidase activity of individuals was affected by the different
treatments. However, the activity of glucose oxidase, enabling bees to
sterilize colony and brood food, was significantly decreased only by the
combination of both factors compared with control, Nosema or
imidacloprid groups, suggesting a synergistic interaction and in the
long term a higher susceptibility of the colony to pathogens. This
provides the first evidences that interaction between an infectious
organism and a chemical can also threaten pollinators, interactions that
are widely used to eliminate insect pests in integrative pest management.




  • [permaculture] Fwd: [SANET-MG] Why are EPA and USDA dithering on the removal of neonicotinoid insecticides from the market?, Lawrence F. London, Jr., 01/21/2011

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