HoneyBees in peril!

snottiegobble starts with ...
An email I received today :-

Dear Friends & Family,

I received this from America today. Have been trying to find out if the chemical mentioned in this article ( neonicitinoids) is used in Australia. I ‘m betting it is. Waiting on official word.

This pesticide - is applied to the seeds of plants themselves. It remains in the plant as it grows, and comes out through the plants' pollen and nectar - honeybees' favorite food. The poison attacks the nervous system of bees and other insects, killing them off while having little effect on other animals. No wonder Organic certifying bodies asked us to start using only organic seeds about 5 years ago.

Here is a link to a Sierra Club article on these seed treating chemicals. http://www.madge.org.au/Docs/sierraclub.pdf

Bees are mysteriously dying across the United States, and it’s putting their entire food system in danger.

The death of bees is catastrophic. Bees don’t just make honey; they are responsible for pollinating a full third of our food supply. These tiny creatures are vital to life on earth - if we let them die we are looking at a world without fruit, vegetables, cotton, nuts and oils. Our entire food chain is in peril, and it is up to us to do something about it.

It’s become clear that small group of pesticides is to blame for the death of bees. We need to get the EPA in America AND AUSTRALA to ban these poisons to save our food and bring back the bees. Please sign the American petition below, and meanwhile we will instigate a petition for Australian authorities and you will be needed later to sign that one as well. THANKS!!

FRESH the movie and Vanishing of the Bees are partnering to protest this dangerous pesticide. Sign their petition to the EPA and its director Lisa Jackson to ban these bee-killing pesticides now, and watch a short video to learn more.

The death of bees is real. A recent study shows that already 96% of the four main bee species of the U.S. has been wiped out by the mysterious Colony Collapse Disorder. [1]

Mounting evidence suggests that one widely used class of pesticides may be a critical factor in the mass casualties. One of these pesticides, clothianidin, is produced by German company Bayer Crop Science and has been widely used in the US since 2003.

Already France, Italy, Slovenia and Germany has banned this pesticide from use on their crops - and their bee populations have bounced back. [2] Now that we know the danger this poison presents to our entire food system, the US needs to ban the poison, too.

Tell the EPA: ban the bee-killing poisons that threaten our food. Click here to sign the petition. FRESH the movie will deliver your signature to Administrator Lisa Jackson and other EPA decision makers.

These poisons aren’t new to the EPA. Unfortunately, the EPA knew of the dangers to bees, and yet approved the pesticides anyway.

A leaked memo, brought to light by beekeeper Tom Theobald, shows that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has been well aware of the dangers of this pesticide to the bee population - their own scientists called it “highly toxic” and “a major risk concern to non target insects [honey bees].” [3]

Yet just last year, despite this clear evidence at its disposal, the EPA approved this dangerous chemical for continued use just last year. But now it’s out in the open.

The EPA needs to immediately move to ban this pesticide so our country’s bees can come back to live. It’s so essential for our food safety and security. Sign the petition to the EPA now.

http://action.freshthemovie.com/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=5213

Our food chain is becoming more and more delicate as the chemical companies assault the crops with pesticides. The researchers who are tasked with assessing the impacts of these chemicals are in the pockets of the companies who produce the chemicals. We need to speak loudly against this pesticide and move closer to a world that is safe for not only us, but the tiny hive workers who keep the whole system running.

Thank you,
Bronwyn

SOURCES
[1] Researchers Find "Alarming" Decline in Bumblebees
http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory?id=12545468

[2]“Nicotine Bees" Population Restored With Neonicotinoids Ban
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2010/05/nicotine-bees-population-restored-with-neonicotinoids-ban.php

[3]EPA Leaked memo
http://www.panna.org/sites/default/files/Memo_Nov2010_Clothianidin.pdf

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Steven says...
Its a shame whats happening to our honey bees all over the world. i remember reading more than a year ago that pesticide have been a major concern with CCD. They believe its a mixture of varroa, pesticides and a few other things (i cant remember) that stress the colony to the point where it cannot cope (poor things) and the just get up a leave never to be seen again.

Australia is to my knowledge the only country in the world without CCD or varroa so if these chemicals are the cause of the problem then its probably unlikely we have them in Australia

While im not disagreeing with the seed theory you brought up as the the results of the reports you posted do show a dramatic change. and i dont mean for this to come out sounding rude. but could you please tell me how a bit of pesticide surrounding a seed could pose a threat once the seed has developed into maturity? wouldnt the toxin become infinitely diluted as the plant grows, rendering the chemical harmless. I would have thought chemical sprays etc would have posed a much higher risk.

It would be a huge shame and an equally huge problem if honey bees became extinct, but i doubt that would ever happen. We (human beings) would go to the ends of the earth to prevent that from happening. The only problem is that often we dont 'really' start tackling the problem until its out of control...

Hayden says...
We could all get our own colonies of bees. Extra pollination of our plants, a new hobby, helping to save the bees and the best part- free honey! I think the European honey bees would be for me as the blue banded bees, while being native and stingless produce much less honey and they need something to eat to.

MaryT says...
No, the blue banded bees are not aggressive though they are pretty single minded so if you stand in the path of where they want to go, they can get annoyed :) They usually fly solo so you would never have to face a swamp of them. On the other hand it is a privilege to have one visit your garden, they are beautiful.

I read that bees have different ways of extracting honey and some native plants needs native bees to pollinate.

Steven says...
I have blue banded bees in my garden this time of year, i often see them on lavander, last i think i saw them on my tomato flowers.

They are a lovely bee, i love seeing them. i dont know anything about them though. I think they build a solitary nest where they raise one larva.

Phil says...
This is a good resource for people wanting to keep native stingless bees on the eastern seaboard;

http://www.zabel.com.au/

kert says...
OK ,this is what I heard- there is a symbiosis between long- billed honeyeaters and tubular flowers viz Eastern Spinebills with Lambertia formosa. The bird gets the nectar and ,in turn , carries off the pollen to the next flower.
But ,then, the European bee comes along, bites thru the base of the tubular flower ,gets the nectar,but no pollen is transfered.

snottiegobble says...
MaryT I guess you mean due to lack of credible pollen for bees visiting both.?

Steven says...
To be honest ive seen many many native bee's, birds, flies etc all feed from non native trees. they may possibly prefer native flowers to non native however they will more than happily feed off non native flowers, when my olive trees were flowering for example. i could not see one european honey bee but they were full of native bees and flies.

Another thing i want to point out is that most flowers only take between an hour to several hours to replenish their nectar, nectar is only sucrose (table sugar) and water, so im sure there is plenty of it to go around when the trees are in bloom.

kert says...
What are "hover bees" Do you know the genus?
In Sydney we have only one social bee ,Trigona carbronara ,about 3mm size.
Nectar is not just sucrose ;there is also fructose.

Charles cant spell says...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoverfly

Hundreds of different types.

Here is one of the one in my yard on a rue flower.

Pictures - Click to enlarge
Picture: 1

snottiegobble says...
It might not be Ok, but your observation of these hover flies having only 2 wings surely puts them in a class of their own regarding flight!
While dragonflies & demoiselles are spectacular & even emulated in helicopter design they do have 4 wings to do it with.
Nice photo Charles C.S

snottiegobble says...
I believe Jason is refering to the little black bees that hover while looking for a suitable crevice or hole to lay their eggs in. May not be the same species but we have lots of them here at the moment particularly in the carport as it is another 34c day!