Bees get Stimulated by Pesticides

Recent research by scientists revealed some very negative effects of pesticides on bees.

Extensive studies were carried out in Sweden on the effects of neonicotinoids on bees. The results spoke volumes about the deleterious effects of these pesticides on bee populations. Two papers got printed in the periodical Nature about the hazards of insect killing agents on these honey producers.

Hopefully, the world is now ready to put a ban on some of these insecticides as was done in case of DDT a long time ago. The facts are clear as the light of day. Species of bees are becoming extinct thanks to both various parasitical factors and nutritional scarcity.

The blameworthy chemicals are neonicotinoids which are a special sub-variety of insecticides which are sprayed onto seeds. The only problem is that they also easily interpenetrate the spheres of pollen and nectar in flowering herbs.

The usage of three types of neonicotinoids has been stopped in Europe. These are: clothianidin, imidacloprid and thiamethoxam. But no ban on them was put into effect in the United States. However, the EPA is considering not employing any neonicotinoids until further evidence regarding their harmfulness or benign nature enters their knowledge.      

The info on these agents of pests and vermin destruction is a mixed bag so far though. The dosage quantity is one issue which has cropped up. Everybody knows that the difference between a cure and a poison lies in the dosage.

And furthermore, it is supposed that the bees would automatically learn to avoid plants that have been sprayed with these neonicotinoids if they are really all that hazardous to them. Experiments were done on bees. They were confined to jars and given a choice between neonicotinoid-laced nectar and ordinary nectar.

Surprisingly they chose the former much to the amazement of the team of researchers. It can only be surmised whether these bees would do the same in conditions of raw wilderness. Further studies revealed that the bees cannot even detect the harmful agents.

They were as immune to these pesticides as birds were to the taste of chili peppers.  There are other research papers that link the presence of these selfsame neonicotinoids to half the population presence of wild bumble bees.

This is significant since it points out the fact that what takes place in Nature is radically different from what takes place in a laboratory setting. As the stakes get higher and bee populations across the planet suffer, the final decision about these man-made killer chemicals will have to be taken willy-nilly.    

This research on bees is published in the journal, Nature.