The reasons behind the global decline of bees and other insect pollinators have been as mysterious as they’ve been controversial, but now we have the first evidence to suggest that commercially available insecticides are impairing the brain activity of individual bumblebees, and the performance of entire colonies.
The culprit? Neonicotinoids – a relatively new class of insecticide, developed by Shell and Bayor around 20 to 30 years ago, that are now considered the most widely used class of insecticides in the world. According to Elizabeth Grossman at the Yale Environment 360 website, in the US, neonicotinoids are used on about 95 percent of corn and canola crops, and are the most commonly used insecticide on cotton, sorghum, and sugar beets, and are used on about half of all soybean crops. The majority of fruit and vegetable crops in the US, including apples, cherries, peaches, oranges, berries, leafy greens, tomatoes, and potatoes, are also treated with the stuff.
But the widespread use of neonicotinoids, despite serious questions regarding their safety around bumblebees and other insect pollinators, has not gone unnoticed. In 2013, following […]
Heartbreaking, that money is put before bees that pollinate and are needed for the food supply. Whereby bees were so commonly seen in my lifetime even in the Bronx, NY where I grew up, I personally, have not seen one bee for at least three years where I now live — in Bangor, Maine. A little aside, butterflies are also uncommon where I live, as are birds… These creatures are our kin and must be treated with the dignity and respect due them. We need each other.
We will and probably are already experiencing the effects of our own stupidity with our “we own the world” attitude which will eventually destroy our human race, too. The “neonics.” have destroyed our own brains, too apparently.