If you have been following the news lately you might have heard about scientists' discovery linking bee colony collapse to an insecticide named imidacloprid.
Imidaclorprid is widely used, applied to more than 140 food crops. According to statistics collected by California's Dept. of Pesticide Regulation and published in their annual reports, California wine grape growers have been increasing their use of this neurotoxin dramatically.
Good recent coverage of this linkage can be found in the current New Yorker article Silent Hives by Elizabeth Kolbert (read it here). You can also listen to the Living on Earth podcast coverage with Harvard professor Alex Lu who conducted one of the definitive experiments.
Furher underscoring the cause and effect relationship, Lu and other researchers note that bee colony collapse coincides with the introduction of Imidacloprid in the 1990s.
Furher underscoring the cause and effect relationship, Lu and other researchers note that bee colony collapse coincides with the introduction of Imidacloprid in the 1990s.
The 2010 report on pesticide use by commodity shows that this insecticide was the second most widely used pesticide on wine grapes. (First place went to oils, which are generally non toxic.)
In 2009, some 34,000 pounds of imidacloprid was applied to 182,000 acres of wine grapes - about 36% of vineyards.
Bayer, the maker of most Imidacloprid, is disputing the three studies (a British one and a French one in addition to the Harvard study).
It took 14 years for scientists to discover the harmful effects of DDT. And it took more time still to pass legislation against if, even when it was a known bird killer, due to intense industry pressure against Rachel Carson.
So who is proposing a ban this bee killer that threatens the rest of the food supply?
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