Bijensterfte, oorzaken en gevolgen

Bestuivers zijn onmisbaar voor 35% van de wereld voedsel en veevoerproductie.

Caffarelli V., Galassi T., Mazzini F., Nencini L., Rapagnani M.R., Rossi R., Screpanti C.

ABSTRACT
Groundwater contamination risk indices are presented for 106 pesticides currently applied on two widespread cultivations in the Province of Ferrara, sugar-beet and pear-tree. The indices were evaluated on the basis of the Attenuation Factor (Rao, 1985), for six soils representative of the pedological regions of the area under study.

Aiming to evaluate the contamination of groundwater by pesticides in cotton growing areas, an SPE-based method (styrene-divinylbenzene copolymer - SDVB) was developed for the simultaneous determination of twelve pesticides in water by HPLC/DAD. The method was validated and average recoveries ranged from 73 to 113%, with a relative standard deviation of 2 to 16%. Detection limits ranged from 0.06 to 0.57 μg L-1. The method was applied to groundwater samples (110) from cotton fields located in “Primavera do Leste”, Mato Grosso state, Brazil.

Emilio Gonza lez-Pradas, Marıa Dolores Urena-Amate, Francisco Flores-Cespedes, Manuel Fernandez-Perez, James Garratt, and Richard Wilkins

Juanita Bacey

This document reviews all routes of environmental fate for imidacloprid under field conditions for its potential use in controlling the glassy-winged sharpshooter. Imidacloprid is a chloronicotinoid insecticide.

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Rômulo Penna Scorza Junior, Johan H. Smelt, Jos J. T. I. Boesten, Rob F. A. Hendriks, and Sjoerd E. A. T. M. van der Zee

Volgende week vrijdag is er een documentaire van de BBC Who Killed the Honeybee over de wereldwijde bijensterfte.
Uitzending is op 15 mei, BBC 2, 20.00 uur Nederlandse tijd.
Zie de BBC website voor meer informatie. Tip: meestal zijn BBC documntaires na uitzending een week lang online te bekijken op hun site.
(Met dank aan Johan die het melde op Imkerforum)

The mysterious ailment called colony collapse disorder has wiped out large numbers of the bees that pollinate a third of our crops. The causes turn out to be surprisingly complex, but solutions are emerging.

* Millions of beehives worldwide have emptied out as honeybees mysteriously disappear, putting at risk nearly 100 crops that require pollination.
* Research is pointing to a complex disease in which combinations of factors, including farming practices, make bees vulnerable to viruses.

Marie-Pierre Halm, A. Rortais, G. Arnold, J. N. Taséi, and S. Rault

Abstract

The procedure to assess the risk posed by systemic insecticides to honey bees follows the European Directives and depends on the determination of the Hazard Quotient (HQ), though this parameter is not adapted to these molecules. This paper describes a new approach to assess more specifically the risk posed by systemic insecticides to honey bees with the example of imidacloprid (Gaucho). This approach is based on the new and existing chemical substances Directive in which levels of exposure (PEC, Predicted Exposure Concentration) and toxicity (PNEC, Predicted No Effect Concentration) are compared. PECs are determined for different categories of honey bees in relation to the amounts of contaminated pollen and nectar they might consume. PNECs are calculated from data on acute, chronic, and sublethal toxicities of imidacloprid to honey bees, to which selected assessment factors are applied. Results highlight a risk for all categories of honey bees, in particular for hive bees. These data are discussed in the light of field observations made on honey bee mortalities and disappearances. New perspectives are given to better determine the risk posed by systemic insecticides to honey bees.

J. M. Bonmatin · I. Moineau · R. Charvet · M. E. Colin · C. Fleche · E. R. Bengsch

Following evidence for the intoxication of bees, the systemic insecticide imidacloprid was suspected
from the mid nineties of having harmful effects. Recently, some studies have demonstrated that
imidacloprid is toxic for the bees at sub-lethal doses. These doses are evaluated in the range between
1 and 20 μg kg–1, or less. It appeared thus necessary to study the fate of imidacloprid in the environment
at such low levels. Thus, we developed methods for the determination of low amounts, in
the μg kg–1 range, of the insecticide imidacloprid in soils, plants and pollens using high pressure liquid
chromatography – tandem mass spectrometry (LC/APCI/MS/MS). The extraction and separation
methods were performed according to quality assurance criteria, good laboratory practices and the
European Community’s criteria applicable to banned substances (directive 96/23 EC). The linear concentration
range of application was 1–50 μg kg–1 of imidacloprid, with a relative standard deviation of
2.9% at 1 μg kg–1. The limit of detection and quantification are respectively LOD = 0.1 μg kg–1 and
LOQ = 1 μg kg–1 and are suited to the sub-lethal dose range. This technique allows the unambiguous
identification and quantification of imidacloprid. The results show the remanence of the insecticide in
soils, its ascent into plants during flowering and its bioavailability in pollens.
Key words: imidacloprid, insecticide, Gaucho®, analysis, soils, plants, pollens, bees

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Honey bees vital for agricultural industry
Sue Kedgley, New Zealand Herald 4 May 2009

New Zealand is slowly waking up to the realisation that honey bees are indispensable to our agriculture, horticulture, environment and economy.

Ezine, 26 March 2009

These comments, submitted by the National Honey Bee Advisory Board to EPA concerning the registration of imidacloprid, a systemic pesticide produced by Bayer Chemical Company, have been edited here because of length. But the stories have not been changed or altered. The NHBAB consists of beekeepers from both the AHPA and the ABF, and represents most of the nation’s commercial beekeepers. EPA now must act on these and other comments regarding this compound. At the same time, this group of beekeepers and Bayer are meeting to discuss continued research with this compound. Time will tell if increased regulation, or more precise research improve the situation.

Beekeepers from around the United States, and around the world, have had persistent problems associated with the use of the systemic pesticide imidacloprid. Since the first uses of imidacloprid in France in 1994 on sunflowers beekeepers reported problems. Soon the condition was given a name in France: “mad bee disease.” Problems reported by beekeepers, combined with mounting independent scientific data, caused the French Minister of Agriculture to suspend the use of imidacloprid on sunflowers in January of 1999. In February 2004, France extended the suspension to include uses on corn. At the same time they further broadened the ban on systemic insecticides to include the chemical fipronil.