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

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.

..loss of honeybees in many countries in the last decade has caused widespread concern..

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

This will help the NGOs fight the good fight. Can we all agree, including CEOs Marijin Dekkers of Bayer Cropscience and Michael Mack of (Syn)genta that this needs to stop now that MS Science has weighed in with :
* "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," ;
* The mysterious vanishing of honeybees from hives can be directly linked to insectcide use;
* Bees from six of the 12 neonicotinoid-treated colonies had abandoned their hives and were eventually dead with symptoms resembling CCD," the team wrote. "However, we observed a complete opposite phenomenon in the control colonies."
* "This observation may suggest the impairment of honey bee neurological functions, specifically memory, cognition, or behaviour, as the results from the chronic sub-lethal neonicotinoid exposure." Earlier research showed neonicotinoid exposure can damage the renowned ability of bees to navigate home.

This poison stays in the soil killing everything in its path for up to 10 years later in rain puddles and run off...

Remember that bees bring us food and work for us for free tirelessly as 75 percent of the food we eat needs their pollination work... and watch the 'Bee Movie' again to remember how cute, hardworking, and wonderful this creature is...

Let us love and respect the bees and the beekeepers....

I don't think this is a surprise or a shock, and I don't think much will change.

No problem. We'll just grow insecticide-resistant honeybees in a laboratory somewhere.

What could possibly go wrong?

originally posted by: NthOther
No problem. We'll just grow insecticide-resistant honeybees in a laboratory somewhere.



What could possibly go wrong?

No they will say honeybees are dying we need a new solution to the problem. Honeybees will be extinct and they will come up with some GMO self pollinating plant.

originally posted by: OccamsRazor04

No they will say honeybees are dying we need a new solution to the problem. Honeybees will be extinct and they will come up with some GMO self pollinating plant.

Indeed. And virtually eliminate production of one of the most beneficial natural foods known to man in the process.

Little jar of real, natural honey ends up costing like 50 bucks before disappearing from the market altogether.

Naw they'll come up with NANOBEES!

originally posted by: NthOther

originally posted by: OccamsRazor04



No they will say honeybees are dying we need a new solution to the problem. Honeybees will be extinct and they will come up with some GMO self pollinating plant.

Indeed. And virtually eliminate production of one of the most beneficial natural foods known to man in the process.



Little jar of real, natural honey ends up costing like 50 bucks before disappearing from the market altogether.

We will have "Honey Flavored Product" by Aunt Beemima made with real high fructose corn syrup. YUM.

originally posted by: NthOther
No problem. We'll just grow insecticide-resistant honeybees in a laboratory somewhere.

What could possibly go wrong?

That will be owned by Monsanto

a reply to: R_Clark

a really do not think there needs to be a harvard study done for people to realize we are destroying our planet...it is an insecticide ...bees are insects ...it really isnt that complicated

I have always wanted an apiary. I live in Amish country. I grew up with an aunt who housed bees. They are making a comeback. I hope it continues.

originally posted by: hopenotfeariswhatweneed
a reply to: R_Clark



a really do not think there needs to be a harvard study done for people to realize we are destroying our planet...it is an insecticide ...bees are insects ...it really isnt that complicated

That's what you get for not reading the study.

It's non lethal doses of insecticide. The levels are not harmful to the bees. The problem is exposure times and "safe" levels become toxic.

originally posted by: OccamsRazor04

originally posted by: hopenotfeariswhatweneed
a reply to: R_Clark



a really do not think there needs to be a harvard study done for people to realize we are destroying our planet...it is an insecticide ...bees are insects ...it really isnt that complicated

That's what you get for not reading the study.

It's non lethal doses of insecticide. The levels are not harmful to the bees. The problem is exposure times and "safe" levels become toxic.

really NON lethal doses of insecticides that accumulate in the environment.....horticulture is my game....so i kinda have a clue about what i am talking about.....so tell me what you are saying is we are not killing the bees as we are spraying non lethal doses ?

This is some very impressive work, I've never seen any study explain how colony collapse disorder happens with such strong evidence to back their claims. This should be a huge wake up call and all the reason we need to change the insecticides we use. But as mentioned by hopenotfeariswhatweneed, bees are insects and so it's kind of hard to create an insecticide which is safe for only bees, I'm not even sure it would really be possible.

originally posted by: hopenotfeariswhatweneed

originally posted by: OccamsRazor04

originally posted by: hopenotfeariswhatweneed

a reply to: R_Clark







a really do not think there needs to be a harvard study done for people to realize we are destroying our planet...it is an insecticide ...bees are insects ...it really isnt that complicated

That's what you get for not reading the study.



It's non lethal doses of insecticide. The levels are not harmful to the bees. The problem is exposure times and "safe" levels become toxic.

really NON lethal doses of insecticides that accumulate in the environment.....horticulture is my game....so i kinda have a clue about what i am talking about.....so tell me what you are saying is we are not killing the bees as we are spraying non lethal doses ?

EVERYTHING is lethal under the right conditions. This study says levels previously believed to not be harmful are. So No, you don't have a clue based upon your earlier post.

People die from water, omg water is lethal avoid it!!!! MANY studies have looked at CCD, none have explained it. You acting like this is an obvious answer shows you don't understand anything on the subject.

something about all this doesn't fly with me..

this is what tipped me off

This will help the NGOs fight the good fight

NGO = non government organization = "shopfront"

strangely enough, these words echo the seth macfarlane comment (when taken off the air, and public support got family guy back on the air) "thanks for helping us fight the good fight", he said
/reaches for paper bag

*they're* not helping us fight the good fight
nothing they do is "good" ..in any sense of the word
you don't have to be a genius to figure that out
the trees are simply known by their fruit

in the tinfoil hat scene, the buzz is something like this;
what they're reporting about the 'insecticide link' to CCD is partly true, but it came about via GMO's.
that's probably the impetus behind the earlier euro bans.
we can also go six-kinds-of-crazy with those X-files episodes (w/ the bee experiments) & the associated material where they factor-in the buzz about mites & parasites being responsible for CCD (which dovetails with the propaganda of sophia smallstorm:dark side of synthetic biology & many others)

hehe.. what a mess

It really saddens me that the producers of these poisons go unpunished for their crimes against nature's insect world. If it screws up the bees, what other beneficial insects are being wiped out. I hope this research will allow bee keepers to take legal action against the guilty. They shouldn't be allowed to get away with this insect genocide.

originally posted by: OccamsRazor04

originally posted by: hopenotfeariswhatweneed

originally posted by: OccamsRazor04

originally posted by: hopenotfeariswhatweneed

a reply to: R_Clark

thx for that

where to start....pesticides like any other poison build up in the environment...it is only a matter of time until they reach a climax...and affect every other insect/animal on the planet..

we as a species destroy the environment for the sake of profit...

we have the ability to live sustainable with the rest of nature but it is not profitable.......

if you really believe that we are not harming the natural cycle of this planet...then you really need to be woken up...i am not going to argue with you as you have clearly already made up your own mind....



















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a really do not think there needs to be a harvard study done for people to realize we are destroying our planet...it is an insecticide ...bees are insects ...it really isnt that complicated

That's what you get for not reading the study.



It's non lethal doses of insecticide. The levels are not harmful to the bees. The problem is exposure times and "safe" levels become toxic.

really NON lethal doses of insecticides that accumulate in the environment.....horticulture is my game....so i kinda have a clue about what i am talking about.....so tell me what you are saying is we are not killing the bees as we are spraying non lethal doses ?

EVERYTHING is lethal under the right conditions. This study says levels previously believed to not be harmful are. So No, you don't have a clue based upon your earlier post.

People die from water, omg water is lethal avoid it!!!! MANY studies have looked at CCD, none have explained it. You acting like this is an obvious answer shows you don't understand anything on the subject.

a reply to: OccamsRazor04

i feel sorry for you if you do not understand....poison is poison and it accumulates...in our soils,our water and the air we breath.....it is only a matter of time until we destroy the natural cycles of life which incidentally has worked for millions of years
wake up

*snip*

a reply to: hopenotfeariswhatweneed

Neonicotinoids have a half life of 34 days, but can stay in the soil for longer if there is little micro organism activity.

A German study outlays the reasons on why it's affecting bees:

Weather conditions that resulted in late planting when nearby canola crops were in bloom

A particular type of air-driven equipment used to sow the seeds which apparently blew clothianidin-laden dust off the seeds and into the air as the seeds were ejected from the machine into the ground

Dry and windy conditions at the time of planting that blew the dust into the nearby canola fields where honey bees were foraging

And a higher application rate which had been authorized for a severe root worm infestation.


There is some accountability on the producers for sure, but there should be MORE on the people using the product.

All the things listed above are avoidable.

Blaming bayer for thousands of farmers misusing the product is like blaming a gun maker for their guns killing people.

\]
a reply to: AlphaHawk

the way we use our land affects the micro-organisms...we are killing the life of the planet...the micro-organisms are the very lifeblood of the land
the poisons are accumulating because we degrade the land ...yes the poisons can be recycled through the land assuming nature is working at her optimal......but lets face it 200 odd years after the industrial revolution we have severely disrupted natures ability to recycle