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Purdue university study confirms neonicotinoids on maize killing honeybees

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#1 ·
AMERICAN UNIVERSITY STUDY CONFIRMS NEONICOTINOIDS ON MAIZE KILLING HONEYBEES ON A VAST SCAL



The full text of this Purdue University Study can be downloaded (.pdf 120Kb) from the scientific journal 'Plus One' at this link
Multiple Routes of Pesticide Exposure for Honey Bees Living Near Agricultural Fields
http://www.moraybeedinosaurs.co.uk/neonicotinoid/routes%20of%20pesticide%20exposure%20for%20honey%20bees.pdf


Corn Seed Treatment As Lethal As It Gets For Honey Bees;
All Season Long, And Long After The Season Is Gone. It Just Keeps On Killing.


Alan Harman

Frightening new research shows honey bees are being exposed to deadly neonicotinoid insecticides and several other agricultural pesticides throughout their foraging period. The research, published in the scientific journal 'PLoS One' says extremely high levels of clothianidin and thiamethoxam were found in planter exhaust material produced during the planting of treated maize seed. The work, which could raise new questions about the long-term survival of the honey bee, was conducted by Christian H. Krupke of the Department of Entomology at Purdue University, Brian D. Eitzer of the Department of Analytical Chemistry at the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station and Krispn Given of Purdue.

Neonicotinoids were found in the soil of each field we sampled, including unplanted fields, they report. Dandelions visited by foraging bees growing near these fields were found to contain neonicotinoids as well. “This indicates deposition of neonicotinoids on the flowers, uptake by the root system, or both,” the report says. “Dead bees collected near hive entrances during the spring sampling period were found to contain clothianidin as well.”

The researchers also detected the insecticide clothianidin in pollen collected by bees and stored in the hive. “When maize plants in our field reached anthesis, maize pollen from treated seed was found to contain clothianidin and other pesticides; and honey bees in our study readily collected maize pollen. “These results have implications for a wide range of large-scale annual cropping systems that utilize neonicotinoid seed treatments,” the report says. The research was funded by grants from the North American Pollinator Protection Campaign and the Managed Pollinator Coordinated Agricultural Project.

There have been red flags about pesticide exposure for some time and of the many compounds detected, the neo-nicotinoid group has received the most attention. As a group, neonicotinoids possess several key attributes that have seen their heavy adoption in both agricultural and urban environments, including low vertebrate toxicity and the ability to be translocated by plants.

Neonicotinoids are also persistent, offering the potential for a large window of activity. The new report says the half-lives of these compounds in aerobic soil conditions can vary widely, but are best measured in months – 148 - 1,155 days for clothianidin.

Among the largest single uses of these compounds is application to maize seed. Production of maize for food, feed and ethanol production represents the largest single use of arable land in North America, reaching a record 35.7 million hectares (88,216,620 acres) in 2010 and is expected to increase. All of the maize seed planted in North America except for 0.2% used in organic production is coated with neonicotinoid insecticides.

Two major compounds are used – clothianidin and thiamethoxam, with the latter metabolized to clothianidin in the insect. The application rates for these compounds range from 0.25 to 1.25 mg/kernel. These compounds are highly toxic to honey bees – a single kernel contains several orders of magnitude of active ingredient more than the published LD50 values for honey bees – defined as the amount of material that will kill 50% of exposed individuals, which ranges from 22–44 ng/bee for clothianidin (contact toxicity).

In fact, the amount of clothianidin on a single maize seed at the rate of 0.5 mg/kernel contains enough active ingredient to kill more than 80,000 honey bees.

Maize seeds are typically planted at a rate of about 12,500 kernels/hectare (30,875 kernels/acre). The latest research was begun after reports of bee kills at Indiana apiaries in the spring of 2010 that coincided with the peak period of maize planting in the area. Analyses of these bees and pollen from the hives revealed that both clothianidin and thiamethoxam were present on dead bees and in pollen collected from a single hive. The compounds were also present in dead bees from other hives but not in bees from hives that did not show mortality. Also found was atrazine, a herbicide that is commonly used in maize production and is relatively non-toxic to honey bees.

The results prompted researchers to carry out more experiments to determine how honey bees may be gaining exposure to clothianidin and other pesticides commonly applied to either maize seed or to plants later in the season. They collected samples from a variety of potential exposure routes near agricultural fields and analyzed them to determine whether pesticides were present. They sampled soils, pollen both collected by honey bees and directly from plants, dandelion flowers, and dead and healthy bees. They even checked waste products produced during the planting of treated seed. Maize seed is sewn with tractor-drawn planters that use a forced air/vacuum system and a perforated disc to pick up individual seeds and drop them into the planting furrow at the selected spacing. Maize kernels treated with neonicotinoids and other compounds such as fungicides do not flow readily and may stick to one another, causing uneven plant spacing. To overcome this, talc (a mineral composed of hydrated magnesium silicate) is added to seed boxes to reduce friction and stickiness and ensure the smooth flow of seed. Much of the talc is exhausted during planting, either down with the seed or behind the planter and into the air using an exhaust fan. Researchers sampled the waste talc after planting to determine whether this material was contaminated with pesticides abraded from treated seeds. The waste is a mixture of the talc that has been in contact with treated maize kernels and minute pieces of the seeds.

“Soil collected from areas near our test site revealed that neonicotinoid insecticide residues were present in all samples tested, with clothianidin occurring in each field sampled,” the research report says. “Herbicide residues were also found in these samples.”

Extremely high concentrations of clothianidin were found in talc exposed to treated seed along with fungicides applied to the seed. Analysis of talc used to plant untreated seed found low quantities of the same pesticides, likely due to contamination and reflecting the difficulties associated with thorough cleaning of equipment between plantings. Direct sampling of anthers revealed that many of the same compounds were present in maize grown from treated seed, but in far lower concentrations. Collection of pollen from traps in the field showed thiamethoxam was present in three of 20 samples, while pollen containing clothianidin was present in 10 of 20 samples. Fungicides were also frequently detected: azoxystrobin and propiconazole were found in all pollen samples, while trifloxystrobin was found in 12 of the 20 samples. Maize pollen is frequently collected b y foraging honey bees while it was available and maize pollen made up more than 50% of the pollen collected by bees in 10 of 20 samples. Samples collected again last year revealed some similar trends.

“Clothianidin was found on all the dead and dying bees we sampled, while the apparently healthy bees we sampled from the same locations did not contain detectable levels of clothianidin,” the report says. “Atrazine and metolachlor were also found, providing further evidence that these bees were foraging near agricultural fields; as these herbicides are commonly applied prior to or during maize planting.

When sampled, the contents of wax combs removed from two hives at the same apiary, researchers found both clothianidin and thiamethoxam in pollen removed from both hives. Nectar did not contain either compound. The miticide coumaphos was found at low levels in each nectar and pollen sample as well.

Both soil and dandelion flowers obtained from the fields closest to the affected apiary contained clothianidin and this could have resulted from translocation from the soil to the flower, from surface contamination of the flowers from dust, or a combination of these two mechanisms. Dandelion flowers growing far from agricultural areas served as controls and no neonicotinoids were detected.

“These results demonstrate that honey bees living and foraging near agricultural fields are exposed to neonicotinoids and other pesticides through multiple mechanisms throughout the spring and summer. The potential for greatest exposure (and the period when mortality was noted), occurs during planting time when there is potential for exposure to extremely high concentrations of neonicotinoids in waste talc that is exhausted to the environment during and after planting. Furthermore, we show that bees living in these environments will forage for maize pollen and transport pollen containing neonicotinoids to the hive. Pollen contaminated with levels of neonicotinoids similar to those shown in our results has been known to impair pollinator health,” researchers said.

The levels of clothianidin in bee-collected pollen the researchers found were about 10-fold higher than reported from experiments conducted in canola grown from clothianidin-treated seed. “Detection of clothianidin in pollen, both in stored pollen in cells and in pollen traps is a critical finding because clothianidin is even more toxic when administered to bees orally, with an LD50 of 2.8–3.7 ng/bee,” the report says. “Given an average weight of 80–100 mg/bee, some of our pollen sample concentrations exceed the oral LD50. This, combined with the result that our samples of dead and dying honey bees consistently demonstrated the presence of clothianidin, suggests that the levels of both clothianidin and thiamethoxam found in our sampling of stored pollen in May of 2011 may have contributed to the deaths of the bees we analyzed.”

The results also showed clothianidin present in the surface soil of fields long after treated seed has been planted. “All soil samples we collected contained clothianidin, even in cases where no treated seed had been planted for two growing seasons,” the report says.

During the spring planting period, dust that arises from this soil may land on flowers frequented by bees, or possibly on the insects themselves. Of potentially greater concern are the very high levels of neonicotinoids and fungicides found in the talc that has been exposed to treated seed. “The large areas being planted with neonicotinoid treated seeds, combined with the high persistence of these materials and the mobility of disturbed soil and talc dust, carry potential for effects over an area that may exceed the boundaries of the production fields themselves.”

“A key mechanism for honey bee exposure may occur during the period when maize is typically planted across much of the Midwest (mid-April through early May). At this time, the energetic requirements of honey bee colonies are increasing rapidly and pollen and nectar resources are being gathered for colony growth. Talc and soil dusts from planting are mobile and have the potential to contaminate any flowering plants that are commonly found in or near agricultural fields and are visited by honey bees, including dandelion. It is a preferred pollen and nectar source for honey bees during this period, when floral resources are relatively limited.”

Later in the season, when planting is largely complete, the researchers found bees collect maize pollen that contains translocated neonicotinoids and other pesticides from seed. Translocation of neonicotinoids into pollen has previously been reported for maize grown from imidacloprid-treated seed, but the researchers say the degree to which honey bees in their study gathered maize pollen was surprising. “The finding that bee-collected pollen contained neonicotinoids is of particular concern because of the risks to newly-emerged nurse bees, which must feed upon pollen reserves in the hive immediately following emergence,” they say.

“Lethal levels of insecticides in pollen are an obvious concern, but sub-lethal levels are also worthy of study as even slight behavioral effects may impact how affected bees carry out important tasks such as brood rearing, orientation and communication.” Also potentially important are the three fungicides found in bee-collected pollen samples – trifloxystrobin and azoxystrobin and propiconazole. Azoxystrobin and trifloxystrobin are frequently used in maize seed treatments as protectants and all three are widely applied to maize in North America, even in the absence of disease symptoms. These findings have implications both for honey bees located near these crops year-round, but also for migratory colonies such as almonds and other fruit and nut crops, the report says.
 
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#110 ·
Ace,

I believe the point is that we have to live with what is. By the time Seth has created a machine like the ACS half of us will be in our graves and our bees will be dead too. sign a petition. Boycott Bayer. Don't buy GMO's, and I hate to boycott my local feed store, but Monsanto shelled out 1.4 million to buy up the varieties of seeds and plants I've been getting from them for years. I may buy 3 Early Girl tomato plants, the rest - I'll order heritage non Monsanto seeds. We have to keep the competition in business. Or let them go, it is our choice.

I'm not a big AG farmer, and I'm not a big AG fan, and I don't care how much corn it takes to feed the ethanol machine, if we lose the bees the nutritional value of GMO wheat, neonic corn and etc won't be enough to support healthy humans.

And now I am stepping down off of my soap box and leaving Beesource for the day. I have a business to run and I'm ticked off again...

Gypsi
 
#114 · (Edited)
... I hate to boycott my local feed store, but Monsanto shelled out 1.4 million to buy up the varieties of seeds and plants I've been getting from them for years. I may buy 3 Early Girl tomato plants, the rest - I'll order heritage non Monsanto seeds...
When you plant your heritage tomato seeds I do hope that you don't plant the Rutgers tomato variety. The reason is that the Rutgers tomato is not a "heriloom" tomato, except by a very very taught stretch of the imagination.

Rutgers is a cross bred hybrid tomato (Early Girl is too) Rutgers tomatoes were hybridized by Rutgers University in New Jersey at the (I think) behest of the Campbell’s Soup Company for use in Campbell’s pre-processed food factories for products like canned tomato juice and other processed foods. That is why New Jersey's old nick-name is "The Garden State"

Do remember however, Monsanto is NOT in the business of selling seeds. It is impossible in fact to buy a seed that Monsanto has grew, owned or paid others to grow for them. Monsanto business is licensing its gene splicing technology to other seed companies and these seed companies grow, distribute, and sell these seeds. Some of these seed companies are wholly owned subsidiaries of Monsanto others are not. There is a very good possibility that any non GMO seed that you purchase is grown and sold by a seed company that also sells seeds produced using Monsanto's patented Bio-Tech (Gene-Splicing) technology even though the seeds you buy from this company are not Genetically Engineered.

On a side note, The paten on the GMO soybean variety known as Round UP Ready soybeans, expires at the end of 2014. Staring with the 2015 crop year, farmers all over America can save their ROR soybean seeds and replant them year after year without owing a licensing fee to Monsanto or anyone else. So I guess that makes RUR soy a "heriloom" soybean.

This is in no way intended as a condemnation of your or anyone else’s closely held beliefs. I only include this information so you can make better informed choices as to which seeds you purchase, or which seeds you leave in the store. Knowledge is power.
 
#119 ·
... Monsanto business is licensing its gene splicing technology to other seed companies and these seed companies grow, distribute, and sell these seeds. Some of these seed companies are wholly owned subsidiaries of Monsanto others are not...
… "Monsanto offers the world’s vegetable growers more than 4,000 distinct seed varieties representing more than 20 species… through its brands: Seminis, De Ruiter Seeds and regional brands."
So is the truth.
So? Didn’t I say that Monsanto owned some seed distribution companies but not others, Seminis and De Ruiter are only two, what‘s your point???

By its very nature knowledge produces truth. As for knowledge producing power. The reason Monsanto is powerful is because Monsanto possesses more knowledge than its detractors do.
 
#121 ·
So? Didn’t I say that Monsanto owned some seed distribution companies but not others, Seminis and De Ruiter are only two, what‘s your point???
Scrapfe, maybe you over looked the part about "and regional brands" which could combine with Seminis and De Ruiter to make up the vast majority of all seed distribution.

My point is that I expected your bias would allow you to read Monsanto's own admission that they ARE a seed business and continue to maintain that they aren't... and that as usual you would continue to assert that everything you post is a fact in one twisted way or another.
 
#111 ·
I wasn't expecting Seth to do it. I use "You" as a general term.
I hear you Gypsi, sometimes it just feels good to vent. Just so you know Lowes is carrying High Mowing Seeds right next to Monsanto's (Burpee). We just got 95% of our seeds this year at Lowes.
 
#113 · (Edited)
My problem with making informed choices is that the 'information' is usually flawed or intentionally fabricated. I don't have the personality to have the 'ostrich with it's head in the sand' approach. I want to know everything, see everything. And yes, I am often amazed or horrified.
I believe no one until they prove themselves truthful-a cynical view I know, but one I have learned in a life time of seeing too much deceit.
Whether we're talking about Politics, pesticides, pharmaceuticals, food safety, etc. no matter. If you want to know the truth, usually just follow the money.
All most of us can do is be observant and do what we think is right.
Years from now we will have some answers..yes, when it is too late. I wonder what those answers will be?
What do you know now you wish you had known 20 years ago? Yes, you should have stopped smoking, should have eaten a healthier diet, should have exercised more. But then, those are things you DID know 20 years ago-just chose to ignore.
What are some ignoring now? The facts are there if you can sort through them. Will you make changes or just ignore them and hope they won't affect you?

Knowing details has helped me be successful in many of my endeavors. But I don't want to be worried about the weeds in my garden if a Hurricane is coming.

It's all in your Perspective.
 
#116 ·
This is pretty interesting information. Apparently Monsanto is in control of many seed "products". This brings up a number of questions in my mind:

If a seed is labled as "heirloom" is there any guarantee that the seed is in fact, not a hybrid variety? How can one know for sure? Seems a little vauge.

Just because a seed is a hybrid variety, does this mean that Mansanto "owns" the rights to it? Again, how can you know for sure? Are there there hybrids out there that are in the public domain? If so, which ones?

Most importantly, how does Mansato enforce the "no seed saving" policy? I buy plenty of hybrid garden seed every year and I have yet to see a warning lable instructing me to not save seeds. I wonder if some of the scare from RR soy beans is "drifting" (hehe) towards the garden seed discussion.
 
#120 ·
If a seed is labled as "heirloom" is there any guarantee that the seed is in fact, not a hybrid variety? How can one know for sure? Seems a little vauge.

Just because a seed is a hybrid variety, does this mean that Mansanto "owns" the rights to it? Again, how can you know for sure? Are there there hybrids out there that are in the public domain? If so, which ones?

Most importantly, how does Mansato enforce the "no seed saving" policy? I buy plenty of hybrid garden seed every year and I have yet to see a warning lable instructing me to not save seeds. I wonder if some of the scare from RR soy beans is "drifting" (hehe) towards the garden seed discussion.
Nabber, it is somewhat vague with some groups using a forty year time frame to qualify a variety as an heirloom and others using shorter periods but there is usually still enough history or background to set them apart.

Monsanto does not own all hybrids and hybrids are vastly different from GMO varieties. Hybrids usually aren't restricted or protected to the same degree as GMO's. Partly because most hybrid crosses aren't stable and saving seeds from them is a crap shoot as you never know what traits you will wind up with from the offspring of seeds that you save and replant.

Monsanto can easily identify and document even traces of GMO material in saved seed and then enforce the restrictions through litigation.
 
#117 ·
Scrapfe, Monsanto has bought up many seed producing companies including Organic seed producers. As yet they haven't change the standard of organics to include GMO but many fear it. Can you smell monopoly? Almost smells like oil.

What is wrong with hybrids? That doesn't mean GMO or round up ready.
 
#118 ·
Seed kept dry and refrigerated keeps for years. I kept seed from last year, the varieties that Monsanto just bought the company for, and I will be stocking my fridge with heirloom seeds in the next couple of weeks. Some people stock a year's worth of canned goods in case of an environmental disaster. I hate canned veggies.

And yes, informed choices are really hard Lauri - I don't have time to deeply research 1/4 of the things I would like to research. So I follow the money, I try to make the best choices I can, support smaller businesses.

(like my locally owned small feed store - who I would really like to see do the research and offer more choices - every seed I've bought from them in the last 10 years is a variety now owned by Monsanto, including my Early Girl tomatoes - I bought 3 today.)

We can only do the best that we can do. But I don't want any neonics. Corn is a semi-useless crop anyway, I don't eat much of it.
 
#122 ·
Well now this whole kettle is all stirred up again. I'm sorry. I was part of it. It doesn't matter how much Scrapfe extolls the virtues of Monsanto, I'm still not gonna like them.

And knowledge doesn't always produce truth. Enough knowledge can then be used to manipulate facts and nuances to mislead, and increase power exponentially.

I'd name some examples, but since it is unlikely that I will change anyone's mind, I'm going back to packing orders and figuring out a woodware order. If you want to help me shop Mann Lake - tip request on the hardware thread.

I've got to sleep, early job in the morning, and it's a long one.

And as Lauri said: just follow the money. Who has the most to gain by said manipulations usually has blueberry pie all over their face.
 
#124 ·
I'll be buying a lot of seeds this year and storing at a controlled temp and humidity for future years. I have zero reason to trust monsanto. What I can get in heirloom varieties will be first choice. right now monsanto hasn't had time to tamper with the rest, in my understanding.
 
#128 ·
Monsanto's goal is to make money.
My goal is to have safe food that I know provides healthy nutrients.
Those 2 goals may be on a collision course. For my own goal, I'm saving seeds. Not illegal, not immoral.

- did you notice that for all the pink ribbon campaigns breast cancer incidence continues to go up, not down? For all the greater volume of food produced, human health is going down. Something is wrong with this picture. It's not my job to figure out what.
 
#135 ·
As usual you twist most of what I say. The benefits are more for male cancers than female and you can read up on it if you like. I think it is just a matter of a few posts and I will get wacked again for derailing a post so I am bowing out.
 
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