Insecticides are a pesticide that kills insects. There are many types of insects. Some are detrimental, such as the mosquito, which spreads deadly diseases. Some are beneficial, such as the honey bee, which is responsible for the pollination of many of the plants that we depend upon for our diet.
There are many different kinds of insecticides. Broad spectrum insecticides kill any insect that they come in contact with–beneficial or detrimental. Target insecticides are formulated to kill just certain species of insects. Colony collapse disorder, CCD, was defined in 2008. There are many causes which are being examined but one of the primary focus area for many researchers was a certain class of insecticide that appeared at the same time–neonicotinoids.
The bottom line remains the same, whether you believe neonicotinoids are part of the problem or not: Bees, and other beneficial pollinators, are dying in record numbers. Pesticides, particularly insecticides but also herbicides (think Roundup) and fungicides, are part of the problem. Reducing or eliminating their use in your lawn and garden will only benefit these insects and all of the higher layers of the food chain that depend on them–YOU!
A wealth of information may be found by reading/listening/watching the following links.
David Liittschwager’s “A World in One Cubic Foot”
NPR–Cornstalks Everywhere But Nothing Else–Not Even A Bee
National Pesticide Use Maps (by Pesticide)
NEW!!!!4/2013 Bee Deaths–EU to Ban Neonicotinoid Pesticides
NEW!!!!4/2013 European Bees get a chance at Sweeter, Safer Life
NEW!!!!4/2013 Cortez Journal–Bad year for bees
NEW!!!!4/2013 Beekeepers Host EPA for Tour of CA Almond Sites
NEW!!!!4/2013 CBS News on Honeybee Losses
NEW!!!!4/2013 Science Friday–Bees Emerging After a Hard Winter
NEW!!!!4/2013 Bee Culture
NEW!!!!4/2013 Interview with Bee Researcher Gloria DiGrandi-Hoffman
NEW!!!!4/2013 Common Pesticide May Harm Honeybees
NEW!!!!3/2013 Huffington Post–Bee Deaths from Colony Collapse Disorder on Rise
NEW!!!!3/2013 New York TImes–Mystery Malady Kills More Bees Heightening Worry on Farms
NEW!!!!3/2013 Beekeepers Sue EPA–Article Summary
NEW!!!!2/2013 Troubling Honey Bee Shortage in CA Almond Orchards
NEW!!!!2/2013 Bee Deaths Threaten Crops
NEW!!!!1/2013 Report in Pediatrics “Pesticide Exposure in Children”
1/2013 Neonicotinoid Seed Treatments and Honey Bee Health
Syngenta and Bayer Crop Science Propose Plan to Unlock EU Stalemate
Scientists study pesticides to see if they are killing bees
Beekeepers worry about threats to hives
Honeybee deaths linked to seed insecticide exposure
Imidacloprid Voluntarily Withdrawn for Almonds
Corn Insecticide linked to great bee die-off in Europe
http://www.colostate.edu/Dept/bspm/extension%20and%20outreach/Boulder%20Neonicotinoid%20Talk.pdf
The Neonicotinoid Controversy:
One Side:
NEW!!!!5/2013 The Sydney Morning Herald–Keepers push for ban after bees stung by pesticides
NEW!!!!5/2013 Ontario Bees Threatened by Insecticides
NEW!!!!5/2013 Mass Honeybee Deaths: Getting Worse, Not Better
NEW !!!!5/2013 Sacramento Bee “Dying Bees raise Alarm for Humans”
NEW!!!!5/2013 You Tube Video “The Neonicotinoid View”
NEW!!!!5/2013 If Our Bees are in Trouble, The We’re In Trouble, Too!
NEW!!!!5/2013 EU Ban on Bee Killing Pesticides Puts Pressure on US
NEW!!!!National Geographic’s “Plight of the Honeybee”
NEW!!!!4/2013 Are Neonicotinoids too big to ban?
NEW!!!!3/2013 It’s Time for a Neonicotinoid TIme-Out–Scientific American
American Bird Conservancy Report
1/16/13 UK’s “The Guardian” reports that neonicotinoids pose a significant threat to bees
PANNA’S Synopsis of Neonicotinoid Studies
James Frazier of Penn State–Critique of Bayer’s paper (below)
Dr. Christian Krupke of Purdue University–Response to Bayer’s paper (below)
Thiamethoxam Banned in France!
Canada ReEvaluates the Neonicotinoids
Xerces Society Report on Neonicotinoids
NEW!!!!4/2013 Dan Rather Report–Buzzkill
The other:
NEW!!!! 5/2013 A Bee in Their Bonnet–The Albany Tribune
Bayer Crop Science’s YouTube Video
Bee-harming pesticides escape proposed European ban
Bayer’s “Recent Publications on Neonicotinoids and Pollinators”
Ban On Bee-Killing Pesticide Postponed
Consumer Information:
Click Here for Retail Neonicotinoid Products to Avoid. Thanks to Sangre de Cristo Beekeepers.
Protecting Honeybees from Pesticides: Purdue Publication with Highly Toxic and Moderately Toxic Lists
Cornell University’s Resource Guide for Organic Insect and Disease Management
