From: Herald-Mail Media
by Dave McMillion
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Which is the bigger threat?
An assistant entomology professor at the University of Maryland is hesitant to lay heavy blame on neonicotoid pesticide use. Dennis vanEnglesdorp, whose research has focused on honeybee health, said there has only been small numbers of beehives with traces of the pesticides in sampling work.
VanEnglesdorp said a big threat to honeybees is the Varroa mites, which is illustrated by the fact that large numbers of beekeepers are not treating for the mites.
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September 21, 2015
Editor’s Note: The following are excerpts from USDA Office of Pest Management Policy’s “Comments on the EPA proposed rule: Mitigation of Exposure to Bees from Acutely Toxic Pesticide Products” [EPA-HQ-OPP-2014-0818]. USDA’s complete comments are attached here.
USDA also requests clarification as to why this is listed as a proposed rule in EPA documents posted in the docket in May, June, and July 2015? When this action was first published in the Federal Register on May 29, 2015, it appeared in the Proposed Rules section of the Register and not in the Notices section where four other EPA notices appeared that same day. If this is a proposed rule and not a notice, why did this not follow procedures as described in the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA)? An action such as this should be supported by an analysis of costs and benefits.
September 18, 2015
Editor’s Note: The complete study by Charles Scott and Paul Bilsborrow for Rural Business Research, an independent “consortium of leading academic units delivering projects for government, levy-funded research bodies, research councils, and commercial clients,” is available here. Below is an excerpt.
September 17, 2015
From: New York Times
By SINDYA N. BHANOO
The Argentine ant, already known as one of the world’s most widespread and damaging pests, may be infecting honeybees with a deadly virus, a new study finds.
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She and her colleagues found that ants from all three locations can carry the deformed wing virus, a pathogen linked to colony collapse in honeybees. The new study appears in the current issue of the journal Biology Letters.
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September 16, 2015
From: Total Landscape
FROM Jill Odom
Varroa mites feed on bee larvae as well as lay their eggs on them.
The honeybee has to deal with multiple threats, but none as devastating as the varroa mite, according to the University of Florida. However, hope is on horizon for two different ways to possibly minimize the threat of these mites.
Varroa mites are parasites and feed on the blood-like substance of the worker bees and the larvae. Not only do the mites weaken the adult bees, they are also able to infect the larvae with a virus known as deformed wing virus. These infected larvae will not be able to fly as adults.
September 11, 2015
From: Australian Broadcasting Corporation
by Dani Cooper, ABC Science
Photo: Three Argentine ants attacking the New Zealand native ant Monomorium antarcticum (Stephen Barnard)
The ‘Genghis Khan of the ant world’, the Argentine ant, not only invades our suburbs. Researchers have now found it carries and spreads deadly pathogens.
However, ironically it appears the invasive ant may also host the seeds of its own destruction in the form of a killer virus.
A new study of Argentine ants in New Zealand, Australia and Argentina shows they carry a previously undescribed virus that could be connected to mass population collapses of the ants in New Zealand.
September 9, 2015
From: Australian Broadcasting Corporation
A plan to map bee activity and protect South Australian pollination rates from climate change and varroa mites has been given a $600,000 boost with the launch of a new program in South Australia.
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University research associate Doctor Katja Hogendoorn said climate change and habitat loss were the biggest threat to Australian bees.
She said the parasitic varroa mite, while not yet in Australia, had decimated bee populations around the world.
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“That is the main problem at the moment in the United States, where the bees are dying,” Dr Hogendoorn said.
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September 8, 2015
EPA’s Action Initiation List (AIL) is a list of agency actions “that 1) will appear in our upcoming Semiannual Regulatory Agenda and 2) have been approved for commencement by EPA’s Regulatory Policy Officer.” The following is from the September 1st, 2015 update to the agency’s current AIL,
Title: Data Requirements for Non-target Insect Pollinators
Projected Publication Date: 12 months or less
Abstract:
September 4, 2015
From: Herald-Review
H&R Staff Report
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There was a buzz inside the Natural Conservation Service tent that had nothing to do with the booths or panels. Instead, a live beehive display drew people to the Illinois State Beekeepers Association table.
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“The biggest question we get is ‘how are the bees doing?’” Mason said. And despite concerns of die-offs due to chemical exposure, they’re doing better than most people think.
“Our biggest problem is the varroa mite,” Mason said.
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September 2, 2015
From: NFU | The Voice of British Farming
A new study has been released on the impacts of neonicotinoids. NFU pollinator expert Chris Hartfield discusses the results.
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In terms of the positives, the study shows how using neonicotinoid seed treatments significantly reduces farmers’ use of foliar insecticide sprays (by about 25%). This is an important finding because, across a dataset covering about 73,000 ha, it shows how use of targeted seed treatments results in fewer pesticide sprays and in principle this should be better for the environment.
August 31, 2015
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