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Pesticides Turn Bumblebees Into Poor Pollinators (acs.org)
MTorrice writes about a new study that suggests neonicotinoids, one of the most widely used insecticides in the world, turn bumblebees into poor pollinators, leading to lower yields of apples and other plants. Chemical & Engineering News reports: "Neonicotinoid pesticides have been blamed for declines in bee populations worldwide. The chemicals don't kill bees, instead neonicotinoids impair the insects' abilities to learn, navigate, forage for nectar, and reproduce, according to studies published over the past several years. Now, researchers report that bees exposed to the pesticides also become less effective pollinators for crops. The study is the first to demonstrate that neonicotinoids can decrease the quality of a food crop by affecting bee pollination. About 30% of our food comes from crops, including fruits, nuts, seeds, and oils, that depend on insect pollinators, according to Dara A. Stanley of Royal Holloway, University of London, who led the new study. 'Basically,' she says, 'you can't have a balanced diet without insect pollination.'"
Insects are affected by poison.
I think we have a Nobel candidate here.
Neonicotinoid pesticides damage bees integrated face systems causing problems with pollination.
Why not just create robot drones that can do what the bees used to do? Problem solved.
*smug*
Poor bees, so why isnt there something done to ban that type of pesticide?
What's good for the bees can't be bad for humans, can it?
If it doesn't kill you, that doesn't mean its good to use in small amounts. Never trust perverse market incentives to pay for honest scientific research.
If the pesticides are a problem, let's address it. There's no need to pretend we're in for a future "without insect pollination". If this phenomenon is a real problem that can be demonstrated, then why hype it up? Why exaggerate?
Farmers know how to grow food. If some problem threatens their ability to grow food, they'll find a solution to the problem.
We don't need more poors, can't we get the bees to stop pollinating them?
... I feel sorry for. They'll need plenty of financial compensation for this fuckup.
Newsflash: chemicals used because of they harm insects end up harming insects.
This. They want to starve children.
This is coming from the country that lifted a ban on neonictonoids... http://www.theguardian.com/env...
Silence is a state of mime.
Practical and direct, just great analysis.! https://www.facebook.com/julio...
The apple maggot fly (AMF) lays eggs and little tiny larvae burrow through it leaving brown tracks. I have no problem eating those apples, but most of those apples fall off the tree before I get to them, and the remaining apples rot after a short time in storage.
Acetamiprid has allowed me to have a halfway decent apple harvest from a home orchard for two years now. It doesn't seem to kill the adult flies so the fruit is still blemished, but it appears to kill the larvae as there are many fewer brown tracks and the apples keep in my cool basement until mid winter.
The alternatives are organophosphates, which are nerve gas precursors or pyrethroids, which are much more bee toxic.
But the categorical dismissal of the use of pesticides in growing fruit along with the high moderation points -- have people around here ever tried to plant an apple tree and get usable amounts of fruit from it?
Correction: 100 % of our food comes from crops. What do you think that steak was eating before landing on your plate? Also, inefficient as hell, but steak does taste nice.
Pesticides harm pests. Bees are pests. Pesticides harm bees. And we're done.
"...neonicotinoids, one of the most widely used insecticides in the world, turn bumblebees into poor pollinators, leading to lower yields of apples and other plants."
Perfect for Monsanto!
over humanity not being able to eat
Holy fuck you deserve a punch to your cunt
This was on /. Like 5 months ago. Let's talk about how the Spice Girls never wore a bra in their movie "Spice World".