Film blames drug firm for death of honey bee colonies
Filed under Environmental News
New Zealand Herald
Michael McCarthy
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
It’s a problem that has baffled agriculture and science – the mysterious deaths of honey bees all over the world in the last five years. But a new film thinks it has the answer.
Vanishing of the Bees claims a new generation of pesticides weakens the bees and makes them more susceptible to other diseases.
The film tells the story of how colony collapse disorder first appeared in America in the winter of 2004 – when many beekeepers across the country found their bees had vanished and left behind empty hives – and of how scientists have since failed to find a single cause for it.
It goes on to suggest neonicotinoid pesticides, some of them made by Bayer, one of the world’s biggest chemical companies, may be behind the disappearances.
They include the widely used imidacloprid (marketed under the trade name Gaucho), which has been banned in France following pressure from beekeepers. It is still in use in Britain and the US and has already been the subject of protests from beekeepers in New Zealand.
Neonicotinoids are applied to seeds rather than sprayed on to growing plants, and affect the pests that consume them. In theory, this means non-pest insects should not be affected.
But Vanishing of the Bees suggests long-term, low-level exposure may be having a weakening effect on honey bees, which have also been hit in recent years by diseases ranging from the devastating varroa mite to the nosema fungus and other viruses.
The pesticides, it suggests, may be the final straw for a weakened population. In particular, the film targets Bayer, which has rejected the allegations.
“Everybody knows this is about the varroa mite, the nosema pest and a number of fungal and viral diseases,” said Dr Julian Little, a spokesman for Bayer CropScience.
“The healthiest bees in the world are in Australia, where they have lots of neonicotinoids but they don’t have varroa.”
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I thought this article very interesting,. It seems you have hit the nail on the head with this theory. I and many others will be exremely saddened if “we” humans are about to be responsible for the death of what in my opinion are the most important creatures to our survival. What drives these big boys in chemical industries? It can only be money, are they not concerned at all that they are basically killing our honey bees and us too in their money driven madness! Who is going to save us? Are we seeing the end of the health and medical benefits of honey? It certainly appears to be going in that direction! And let’s not forget the truly important job they do at pollinating our crops and plants for which we rely so heavily on food and clothing. Does anyone know if there is a Worldwide Campaign going on to save the honey bee? Please let us all know so that we can all join forces and together we can hopefully unite before it is too late!