Imidacloprid Implicated in ‘Smoking Gun’ Study
Congratulations to Michael McCarthy of The Independent for some great reporting last week that we just happened to catch today: http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/nature/exclusive-bees-facing-a-poisoned-spring-2189267.html. Now it’s our job to spread the word.
In a nutshell the article states that the lead researcher for the USDA has known for two years that pesticides made from synthetic nicotines are harmful to bees — even at doses so low they cannot even be detected by normal scientific procedures.
The mind-boggling thing about the story is that the researcher, Jeffrey Pettis, broke the story to a documentary filmmaker rather than a government source. Pettis, who reportedly will speak directly with Grist on Monday, said his research was completed two years ago, but official publication of his findings has been stalled.
In an interview with SafeLawns nearly four years ago, Pettis said he doubted our theory that the synthetic nicotine pesticide known as imidacloprid was the cause of colony collapse disorder that has wiped out millions of colonies of bees in North America since 2006. Even as we fed the story to 60 Minutes, among others, in the past four years, the USDA has stood behind the pesticides’ manufacturer, Bayer, and said any studies were inconclusive.
“We’re just not finding imidacloprid in the hives,” Pettis told us in 2007.
In an interview in the European documentary The Strange Disappearance of the Honeybees, Pettis and his collaborator, Dennis van Engelsdorp, said they had changed their minds due to a study in which bees were fed microscopic does of imidacloprid and then purposedly infected with Nosema, a known bee pathogen. The Nosema virus had greater impact on the hives when the tiny amount of imidacloprid was present.
“The take-home message is that (pesticide) interactions may be the key,” said Pettis in the film. “Bee health is very complex and that these interactions are often overlooked and are hard to tease apart. So in this case we were manipulating one pesticide (Imidacloprid) and one pathogen (Nosema
Ceranae) and we clearly see the interaction.“
So will this finally be the study that pulls imidacloprid, clothiandin and other synthetic nicotines off the market? Since the study has yet to be published, the guess from here is that the pesticide industry will continue to bluster and the USDA and the rest of the federal government will continue to stall. We simply cannot let them, however.
This research is the smoking gun we’ve been waiting for. Spread the word!
January 24th, 2011 at 10:13 am
Dear Paul,
This is Bonnie Curry aka Wish….Star just wanted to let you know how much your reporting about the colony collapse disorder culprit will mean to my readers. I immediately posted in Twitter and on Face Book, the latter at which we are “friends.” Your unshakeable and steadfast efforts to present what we all need to know in a timely fashion is appreciated by so many and especially me. I am proud to say that I know you, have worked along side of you at the New Hampshire legislature, and am humbled by your grace and presence.
I too share your sentiment with experiencing a harsh winter! Just the sounds of the back door porch tell me with its crackling noises that the temperatures are near zero. As a gardener and admirer of all things beautiful, like you I cannot wait for Spring!
Very truly yours,
Bonnie
April 2nd, 2011 at 10:59 am
Nosema Ceranae is NOT A VIRUS!!!!!! N. Ceranae is a microsporidian, from the Fungi. You are ill informed and dangerous. Neonicotinoids may play a role in Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), but no more than parasites, fungi and viruses do. The common thread in CCD so far is Nosema Ceranae and picorna-like viruses. These “hijack the ribosome,” taking over the cellular machinery to manufacture only viral proteins. The list of picorna-like viruses that afflict honey bees is long and includes Israeli acute paralysis virus which was suspected early on. The primary disease vector is thought to be the Varroa Mite. Get informed please.
Bob Barker
April 2nd, 2011 at 4:58 pm
Bob,
According to scientists in several other nations, CCD is in fact likely caused by neonicotinoids. Bees have recovered in nations where neonicotinoids have been taken off the shelves. We believe it’s dangerous to keep suggesting that the synthetic pesticides are only part of the problem, because such arguments continue to delay the necessary ban that needs to be enforced in the United States.