EU bans bee harming pesticides

On April 29 the European Union passed a vote to place a 2 year ban on 3 bee harming pesticides while further research can be conducted. The motion barely passed but all countries in the EU are required to comply.

http://m.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/international-business/european-business/eu-to-ban-pesticides-blamed-for-harming-bees/article11610765/?service=mobile

Let's hope they are able to extend that to a period of forever.

it is, unfortunately, not a complete ban. a neonicotinoid ban is also far from a silver bullet for solving all bee woes, but it's certainly a welcome development.

You're right about it not being a solution to all the problems, but it is the first step: admitting and accepting that there is a problem and beginning to find solutions. It's hard to imagine that the research that will happen over the next couple years won't point to other pesticides and practices as contributing factors. I hope governments see these multiple causes all as factors that need attention rather than just another direction to point the finger and pass blame, as I'm sure the chemical companies will continue to try....

New study released and it's much more complicated than first thought (surprise surprise):
http://qz.com/107970/scientists-discover-whats-killing-the-bees-and-its-worse-than-you-thought/

Nick Kitchener wrote:New study released and it's much more complicated than first thought (surprise surprise):
http://qz.com/107970/scientists-discover-whats-killing-the-bees-and-its-worse-than-you-thought/

I'll point out that chemical fungicides should be considered everything-cides, since fungi have the most well developed pathways for breaking down larger molecules into smaller ones (and then eating them). If a compound is toxic to fungi, almost every other multi-cellular organism is going to have to put considerable energy into degrading it. Take that amount of energy away from bees, and they can't defend from all the other hazards in their environment.

John Elliott wrote:I'll point out that chemical fungicides should be considered everything-cides, since fungi have the most well developed pathways for breaking down larger molecules into smaller ones (and then eating them). If a compound is toxic to fungi, almost every other multi-cellular organism is going to have to put considerable energy into degrading it. Take that amount of energy away from bees, and they can't defend from all the other hazards in their environment.

fungi are also a very important parts of a honey bee colony. they exist in bee guts, in fermenting honey and pollen, and likely elsewhere in the hive. much like humans have co-evolved with microörganisms in our guts, on our skin, and even in our cells, so have honey bees.

I know next to nothing about bees, but my permaculture brain tells me there is likely a complex symbiotic relationship between bees and certain fungi or moulds.

Thanks Tel for the confirmation.

I'll now await the announcement of GM bees that are resistant to the cocktail...

I lost my hive last fall but not to die off , likely I had an older queen that was no longer producing brood , so I decided to suspend bee keeping until next year and I hope to be better educated . One result of declining hives is that the demand for pollination services is going to be very expensive . I learned recently that the theft of hives is on the rise and I was advised to place my hives where no one could see them .

Monsanto is suspected being the instigators behind Illinois researchers bees being seized and his queens destroyed :

http://www.realfarmacy.com/illinois-illegally-seizes-bees-resistant-to-monsantos-roundup-kills-remaining-queens/

Lisa Paulson wrote:I learned recently that the theft of hives is on the rise and I was advised to place my hives where no one could see them .

I find it easier to make them unrecognizable as hives and so large that theft is damn near impossible without heavy equipment.

I am sure my mouth dropped open when I was told that hives were being stolen locally here, it is a fairly affluent area. Apparently they are even being stolen being lifted frame by frame . I am going to repaint my supers with more natural colouration to blend in .

Lisa Paulson wrote:Apparently they are even being stolen being lifted frame by frame.

one more reason to ditch frames.

Well it's the permaculture way to pasture different animals together, like cows and chickens.

Another good partnership could be bees and crocodiles