Pesticides behind bee deaths

in #science7 years ago

Neonicotinoid pesticides, often used as seed coatings, is likely cause of bee colony deaths being seen in many countries.

Quote from study:

Overall neonicotinoid residues were detected infrequently and rarely exceeded 1.5 ng g−1 (w/w). As such, direct mortality effects caused by exposure to high concentrations of neonicotinoids are likely to be rare (table S12). However, our results suggest that exposure to low levels of neonicotinoids may cause reductions in hive fitness that are influenced by a number of interacting environmental factors. Such interacting environmental factors can amplify the impact of honey bee worker losses (e.g., through sublethal toxicity effects) and reduce longer-term colony viability.

Neonicotinoids were developed by Shell and Bayer as a safer pesticide because they have less effects on birds and mammals. Long suspected to be behind the honey bee colony collapse disorder, they were restricted by the EU in 2013.

We can't abandon the concept of pesticides/fungicides/herbicides soon enough.

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It isn't only the bees either! Here in Arkansas the honey bee population has been decimated... not only that, I'm convinced that these chemicals are behind the death of many, many birds as well. If you Google it, you'll find entire flocks of birds found dead (and nobody can figure out why!!!) and I'm pretty certain it isn't suicide! Good article!

Nature is way too complex a system to be screwing with like that. We are still at the stage of randomly throwing wrenches into delicate gears under the impression that we are "fixing it."

The way I see it... they're not really delicate gears. Life on earth will go on with, or without us (it would probably be more beneficial to earth, without). Actions have consequences. Profit ahead of safety has consequences. If you don't mind wiping out entire species to make a few bucks, then go for it. But watch out... "It ain't nice to fool with Mother Nature!" (or prudent)

I don't know what your religious beliefs are, but page 1 of the Bible shows that after Creation, God turned things over to us to manage... we made it to page 3 before we started fucking it up- just in case you're wondering how things will ultimately turn out.

Hah! Not very good stewards...

I am intrigued by world wide reports of floods as a means of starting over. But am also interested in alternative explanations to the biblical one -- the bible is repeating the sumerian tale of Ziasudra, see also atrahasis and utnapishtim as other ancient Noah stories.

Israelites spent a long time in Babylon hearing their stories and absorbing their history and culture.

When William Penn met with the Susquehanna Indians, they told him the tale of the "Great Flood" and the dude with the giant canoe who saved all the animals... He thought he had found one of the lost tribes of Israel.

It doesn't matter which myth system you go by... they all have the same aim- to get people to behave better. Ramakrishna said it very well, "Buddhists should follow the Buddha, Muslims the teachings of Muhammad, Christians, Christ, etc.... Religions are all just paths leading to the same place, be careful not to worship the path and not god."

World wide flood is in all the stories. Just hard to figure out how it would happen absent a close encounter with another planetary body and a huge resultant tidal wave sweeping around the earth in response.

Like Niburu!

Hah! Guess I need to get out my tin foil hat....

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Until more recently I wasn't aware that the plants I had been buying at the big box home improvement store are often treated with this when non-organic, and that this pesticide kind of embeds into the plant body rather than washing off =/

My dear neighborhood honey bees, I am sorry :(

Oh boy -- just saw your reply and sorry to ignore it (wish notifications worked better) but also didn't know that about big box plants -- amazing how pervasive the complications become the more you learn.

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