Comments on: Do Neonicotinoid Pesticides Contributed to the Complex Thing We Call Bee Colony Collapse?

By: Ana

Ana — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 19:09:24 +0000

“Researchers have now found that repeated low-dose exposures are perfectly capable of gradually killing of whole hives of bees. In fact, 94 percent of hives whose bees had been fed the pesticide died off entirely within less than six months, according to a new paper that will be in the June issue of Bulletin of Insectology.”

http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/2012/04/06/common-pesticide-implicated-bee-colony-collapse-disorder/

By: Greg Laden

Greg Laden — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 15:19:34 +0000

http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2012/04/05/honey-production-drops-in-minn-wis-in-2011/

By: Thesius

Thesius — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 15:02:21 +0000

Pesticides are nerve toxins. Why is this even a discussion? Oh, the PhDs are paid to defend these toxins and parrot whatever continues to support commercial viability. In fact, the scientists often play a very vital role in the toxic game of genetic roulette, they assign allowable levels of these toxins that nature, insects and humans are deemed to be able to ingest….safely. It’s the equivalent for “taking one for the team” so a few may profit at the expense of the many….or in the case of bees, the entire colony.

By: Craig Bart

Craig Bart — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 05:05:15 +0000

If there are larva/eggs sufficiently young enough the workers can use these eggs to develope a new queen. The worker bees produce a special food called Royal Jelly which causes a regular egg/larva to develop int a queen.
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20111014020803AAd1GAC

By: Adam K

Adam K — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 22:04:08 +0000

Still not really convinced… Surely pesticides may play some role, but as thers pointed out, this seem to be much more complex phenomena…

By: Greg Laden

Greg Laden — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 14:47:04 +0000

But wait, Peter, to be devil’s advocate for a moment, you did just state that the current Canadian canola situation is about a decade old. The colony collapse thing has been going on for about a decade. The fact that everyone is using these pesticides and the fact that there are problems with bees, together, is not evidence that there is not a link. It may not be evidence of anything at all, but it doesn’t really convince me of anything.

By: ziekenhuisdieet

ziekenhuisdieet — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 02:43:41 +0000

this is not bee-autifull.
Cant believe that pesticides do this…
Are there alternatives for pesticides?

By: Peter Borst

Peter Borst — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 01:21:06 +0000

What is being overlooked is the real world experience: canola growers have been using both GM seeds and chemical treated seeds for years now, and beekeepers have been getting lucrative honey crops from the canola flowers — not dead hives!

* * *

Canola is grown commercially mostly on the prairies in Canada. In 2008, 16.6 million acres (6.6 million ha) were planted and the acreage is expanding. There are 52,000 canola producers. Canada is the largest single producer of canola in the world.

Commercially grown canola is predominantly a prairie crop. It is so common that 80% of Canadaâ??s honey crop is from canola. This amounts to 50 million lb per year of Grade No 1 white honey.

Approximately 300,000 colonies harvest open pollinated canola. The expanding hybrid seed production industry, where farmers produce seed under contract to the seed companies, required 80,000 colonies in 2008 for pollination in southern Alberta.

Most canola seeds are now treated with systemic insecticides such as GauchoÂ® (imidacloprid), PonchoÂ® (chlothianidin) or HelixÂ® (thiamethoxan). Although there is an expressed concern by many beekeepers around the world about the use of systemics, the experience in Canada is that we have had 10 years of large scale use on canola with no observed ill effect.

Pollinating Hybrid Canola – the Southern Alberta Experience
Heather Clay, Chief Executive Officer, Canadian Honey Council, Calgary, AB

By: Benjamin Raucher

Benjamin Raucher — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 22:58:58 +0000

Wow!1 The tracking of bees. Now I have seen everything.
BENJAMIN RAUCHER

By: Phil

Phil — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 04:42:12 +0000

Bug girl, I hope you post on environmental websites which are jumping on this one study and blaming pesticides for everything.