Harvard study shows neonicotionoids are devastating colonies by triggerring colony collapse disorder

[MohRokTah]

Well folks, Harvard has the smoking gun. Neonicitinoids alter winterization behavior in apis melifera:

Honeybees abandoning hives and dying due to insecticide use, research finds

Harvard study shows neonicotionoids are devastating colonies by triggerring colony collapse disorder

The mysterious vanishing of honeybees from hives can be directly linked to insectcide use, according to new research from Harvard University. The scientists showed that exposure to two neonicotinoids, the world's most widely used class of insecticide, lead to half the colonies studied dying, while none of the untreated colonies saw their bees disappear.

"We demonstrated that neonicotinoids are highly likely to be responsible for triggering 'colony collapse disorder' in honeybee hives that were healthy prior to the arrival of winter," said Chensheng Lu, an expert on environmental exposure biology at Harvard School of Public Health and who led the work.

The loss of honeybees in many countries in the last decade has caused widespread concern because about three-quarters of the world's food crops require pollination. The decline has been linked to loss of habitat, disease and pesticide use. In December 2013, the European Union banned the use of three neonicotinoids for two years.

In the new Harvard study, published in the Bulletin of Insectology, the scientists studied the health of 18 bee colonies in three locations in central Massachusetts from October 2012 till April 2013. At each location, two colonies were treated with realistic doses of imidacloprid, two with clothianidin, and two were untreated control hives.

...

More at The Guardian

The article links to the actual Harvard study. Bayer can no longer duck this. Neonicitinoids cause apis melifera to attempt nectar and pollen gathering during the middle of winter rather than the standard winterization behavior.

The smoking gun has been found. Bayer is the evil corporation killing off the honeybee.

[drm604]

1. I can already hear the Republican talking points.

"Good for them! Thanks to these wonderful substances, they're now showing some initiative and working all winter rather than sleeping."

Or

"People should learn something about bees and their lifestyle. They're nothing but a lazy bunch of communists. I say good riddance!"

[bettyellen]

2. kick

[reformist2]

3. At first I read it as "exposure to neoconitoids..."!

[Cirque du So-What]

11. You think YOU got it wrong?

I read it as 'neocon-arrhoids' - an affliction I could definitely see anywhere around the world where the neocons would impose colonization.

[mike_c]

4. did you read the paper...?

Notwithstanding your strong desire for this to be true, there are some problems that will hopefully be resolved further. First, Chensheng (Alex) Lu and his coauthors appear to be the only people to have gotten these results, and their 2012 paper making similar claims is not well regarded.

The present study, like the 2012 study, is published in a low impact, rather obscure Italian journal. Something as spectacular as the "smoking gun" explaining CCD would surely pass peer review in a more mainstream journal, don't you think? I have some questions about the experiment, as well. The sample size is small, yet apparently yielded highly significant results, suggesting a large effect size, something not seen in any previous tests of neonics on honeybee hives that I know of.

Further, the authors report their analysis was simple one-way ANOVA, but as I read their methods the study is at least a repeated measures design, and given the small sample size and differing outcome of results in the three apiaries, probably a blocked design as well. It also appears that they used ANOVA to compare the average number of frames containing bees from UNPOOLED "before" data (no significant difference) but pooled the data for ANOVA of the "after" counts of frames containing bees. This is the sort of sloppiness that often encourages publication in low impact journals.

Still, I expect the entomologists in the various CCD working groups at the USDA and at places like Penn State will be looking at this paper very critically during the coming weeks.

[DeSwiss]

5. Thanks Shell, Bayer.

- For your many, many contributions toward solving world over-population problems.

Neonicotinoids are a class of neuro-active insecticides chemically similar to nicotine. The development of this class of insecticides began with work in the 1980s by Shell and the 1990s by Bayer. link

''Better living through chemistry.....''

[MohRokTah]

9. It's multiple issues.

Varroa Destructor was never a factor in US apiaries of apis melifera until introduced in 1987.

This resulted in insecticides being used on insects to control the varroa mites. The problem is it also had an effect on multiple other mite species that live in a symbiotic relationship with apis melifera colonies, furthr weakening hives.

Then you have the introduction of tracheal mites, another pest unknown to apis melifera before accidental introduction. This required further treatments for control, furthr weakening colonies.

When you add up all of the various factors weakening the hives, the neonicitinoids become a final straw breaking the colony's back.

[Avalux]

8. Good solid work. It won't be taken seriously by the big mouths though. n/t

[MohRokTah]

10. Still must be independently verified.

But really, given all the stresses on bee colonies, it's really no surprise that non-lethal doses of neonicitinoids would also have further stresses on the colonies.

And cumulative stresses on a colony will always result in the death of the colony eventually.

[Avalux]

21. That's absolutely right - they operate as a collective.

A stressor, no matter what it is, affects the entire colony. My dad was a beekeeper when I was a kid, they are amazing animals and we learned a lot.

I agree it needs to be independently verified, but the data looks good.

[DCBob]

12. The irony is that neonicotionoids are very poplular due to their low toxicity to humans and animals.

The active ingredient is based on the naturally occurring compound in tobacco, nicotine. Other popular insecticides are much more toxic and if neonicotionoids are banned or restricted then the use of those more toxic products will most likely begin to increase. For sure something needs to be done but the unintended consequences need to be considered.

[MohRokTah]

13. The problem becomes the fact that the use of insecticides is a selective breeding program.

You are selecting for resistance to the insecticides.

You breed super-bugs.

Just like Roundup use has become selective breeding program for weeds. The use of Roundup has positively selected for weeds that are Roundup Ready.

[DCBob]

14. Thats has always been and always will be an issue with any pesticide.

They are techniques such as alternating types of pesticides to minimize the problem but for sure its an issue. There are no good options for not using pesticides unless every man, woman and child are willing to take up hoes for a few hours every day.

[MohRokTah]

15. Urban farming reduces the use of pesticides.

By growing some of your own food in your own yard, you can utilize better pesticide options like Neem Oil and natural predators like lacewing flies, ladybugs, and praying mantids for some control to reduce your individual contribution to the use of pesticides.

The food tastes better, too.

You cannot be self sufficient, but you can reduce the reliance upon pesticides.

As far as neonicitinoids go, commercial beeks have begun refusing to pollinate crops that use them or are close to fields with crops that use them. It's quite possible the market will force them out or will keep them confined to farming areas where insect pollination is not required.

[DCBob]

17. Sure, but to replace a significant fraction of the food grown commercially would require..

tremendous numbers of "urban/natural farms" on a massive scale. I agree we need to do something about this problem but its naïve to think we can supply enough food for the billions of people on this planet without commercial pesticides.

BTW, you do realize even "natural" techniques are subject to pest resistance?

[MohRokTah]

19. Of course.

Predators are the best pesticide, though. As the prey becomes more resistant to the predator, the predators become better at catching the pray.

Also, monocultures invite pests. Companion planting in an urban garden setting can allow you to use no pesticides at all. It can't be done on a commercial scale, but each person can contribute to at least reduce consumption of pesticides.

I haven't used a pesticide in my backyard in over a decade and grow a lot of the food we consume for half the year. It doesn't eliminate pesticides, but it reduces them. I also buy organic, especially those vegetables that are prone to absorption of pesticides and herbicides. Finally, I only buy meat raised anti-biotic and hormone free and try as often as possible to purchase the more humanely raised organic meat. It's more expensive, but allows me to contribute in my own way.

[Zorra]

16. I love honeybees, and watch for them, but have not seen a single honeybee

yet this year in N. Central AZ.

"When the Last Tree Is Cut Down, the Last Fish Eaten, and the Last Stream Poisoned, You Will Realize That You Cannot Eat Money"
~ Alanis Obamsawin

[KittyWampus]

18. I'd say larger picture targets monoculture agriculture. Our agriculture is so dysfunctional

in so many ways.

[karadax]

20. More Than Honey - on Netflix

If you witness how bees are carted around on trucks going from place to place across America for the farming industry you'll be disgusted. Colonies are ripped apart and tossed together. Many are diseased. The bees die off so fast that they're imported in massive quantities to keep up with the farming demand. The mobile honeybee industry seems to be the only thing keeping American farms up and productive.

I also didn't know the honeybee originated in Europe. It's not supposed to be in North America to begin with.

The documentary is worth the time.