Page 23 of 23 FirstFirst ... 13212223
Results 221 to 229 of 229

Thread: Are neonicotinoid pesticides responsible for the demise of bees and other wildlife?

  1. #221
    Administrator gavin's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2010
    Location
    Tayside
    Posts
    4,464
    Blog Entries
    41

    Default

    Haven't read it but yes, it is the industry view, and as they are very widely used insecticides we should be cautious.

    Quote Originally Posted by The Drone Ranger View Post
    .....
    I would exercise caution when taking the views of bee farmers, they see no harm from neonics, but anything that means farmers and beekeepers are in conflict can affect their livelihood
    But equally (no, more so!) anything that affects their *bees* will affect their livelihood. So listen to the observant, thoughtful bee farmer especially any that collect their own data on performance.

  2. #222

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by gavin View Post
    Haven't read it but yes, it is the industry view, and as they are very widely used insecticides we should be cautious.



    But equally (no, more so!) anything that affects their *bees* will affect their livelihood. So listen to the observant, thoughtful bee farmer especially any that collect their own data on performance.
    I lost faith a little bit when the idea of using bees to deliver fungicide to strawberries was trialed
    Seems the bee is just a delivery tool in some quarters
    But you make a fair point Gavin

  3. #223
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Feb 2010
    Location
    Somerset
    Posts
    1,884
    Blog Entries
    35

    Default

    Just because it was bought to my attention recently:
    http://news.sciencemag.org/europe/20...noid-ban-court

    Bayer and syngenta are apparently fighting the ban.

    I'm actually surprised at this, I thought they might fund the NFU and European equivalents rather than try it themselves but hey ho. Note that the article is dated august 2013, I thought I'd watch for a little while and see what noise was out and about, but it seems pretty quiet.

  4. #224

    Default

    The wildlife strips that were showing up seem to disappear and then re -appear depending on the crop being planted
    Am I wrong about that, surely that would be pretty nonsensical

  5. #225
    Senior Member fatshark's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2010
    Location
    Ardnamurchan & Fife
    Posts
    1,693

    Default

    Can someone remind me about the neonic ban dates ... ? I'm delighted to see dozens of acres of OSR planted all round my main apiary for next year. I think the seed will have been treated as it must have been planted in September (ban at the end of the year?). It may be the last chance I get for a good OSR yield without having to worry about spraying. I'll be moving another half dozen hives onto the site as soon as it flowers ... and getting my queen rearing started as soon as possible

  6. #226
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Mar 2010
    Location
    Orkney (it’s usually cool and windy but somehow the bees survive!)
    Posts
    284

    Default

    Neonicotinoids are back in the news again. Countryfile on BBC1 had its usual impartial but inconclusive report on Sunday’s programme http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode...yfile-oxenhope you find it at 13 minutes. Also this appeared on the BBC news site yesterday. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-27980344 I was sitting on the fence but now I’m starting to wobble!

  7. #227

    Default

    I have been amazed this year how often spraying goes on
    On soft fruit like raspberries in the open field it seems almost constant
    Wheat and potatoes seem to get similar attention
    This is going on in the middle of the day in good weather
    Course it all drifts onto everything else in the surrounding areas
    Honey Bees might not be the best indicators of the effects
    We know the flying bees are relatively short lived so shortening of their life might be not fatal to the colony
    In all the surrounding fields a large number of land drains have been installed in response to the flooding
    That means the run off makes it way into streams burns and rivers more quickly

    I don't know what is being sprayed a lot of fungicides obviously
    It won't stop till a better solution comes along
    Its an economic issue really and I would say that moving subsidy from crops that require chemical inputs to crops and methods that reduce the need for them is the possible way forward.
    I have about 20 rows of potatoes which took a lot of work to put in earth up etc
    I haven't sprayed anything on them for blight ( there is only Diathane 945 anyway)
    I am growing Sarpo varieties and very early varieties to try and make the end result worth while

    If I was a farmer with acres of crop I don't think I would be able to resist spraying them either

  8. #228
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Mar 2010
    Location
    Orkney (it’s usually cool and windy but somehow the bees survive!)
    Posts
    284

    Default

    Here is the latest from the BBC. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-29368497

  9. #229

    Default

    Following the link I read this one as well.
    http://m.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-23298530.
    The rare Cornish black bee.
    The pic seems to be of the not so rare carnie/italia cross
    Odd that they look so similar

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •