nicotine kills....bees

[Ruprecht]

Since CCD is still evident in Europe more than a year after the neonicotinoid ban went into effect, and Australian bees are thriving while neonicotinoid use is high, I think the link between the mites and CCD is pretty solid, even if the mites aren't the one and only cause.

Australian bees aren't thriving though, their decline just isn't anywhere near as bad.
It's still a worry, and the chances of Australia staying varroa free aren't good (they are already in Papua New Guinea and New Zealand).

 

[Casrot]

This sounds like a job for...Dr. Bees!

[YT]PYtXuBN1Hvc[/YT]

 

[gogoGomi]

A good read about Lu's studies and CCD.
http://scientificbeekeeping.com/news-and-blogs-page/

This is a classic Obama Chicago politics. We are on the verge of the biggest agricultural meltdown since the dust bowl and he's been trying to blame this on mites to help out his donors at Brayer

Not sure if serious

 

[Cubo de Sangre]

It doesn't happen here to the extent it happens in countries with varroa mites though.
Also our bees are less inbred than Americans.
Misuse of pesticides is unlikely to be widespread enough to be the cause anyway.
I think they are looking at the interaction of fungicides, pesticides and parasites as the most probable cause.

Thanks. That's surprising about inbreeding since you're on a big island.

Since CCD is still evident in Europe more than a year after the neonicotinoid ban went into effect, and Australian bees are thriving while neonicotinoid use is high, I think the link between the mites and CCD is pretty solid, even if the mites aren't the one and only cause.

So what I'm hearing is nobody really knows what the fuck the problem is and it might be a combination of factors that will be difficult to isolate and pinpoint. :icon_sad:

 

[Zankou]

Thanks. That's surprising about inbreeding since you're on a big island.



So what I'm hearing is nobody really knows what the fuck the problem is and it might be a combination of factors that will be difficult to isolate and pinpoint. :icon_sad:

Yup. It really sucks. The new studies seem pretty clear that these neonicotinoids have a strong negative effect on honeybees, but the causes of their decline seem to be much more complex than that unfortunately. It would be great if banning these particular pesticides stops the problem, and (without having looked at the economics) I think they should be banned, but I'm very pessimistic on how much of the problem they actually are.

Some of these species decline problems seem to be incredibly complicated, like amphibian declines. It's not so much one factor as many different factors that seem to push them past the point of recovery.

 

[Bob Charlie]

Mostly laboratory studies - low-tier research - report ........., while field studies - superior research.......

This part of the post is so revealing. You should really try to learn about science, what it is, why it is done before you attempt to interpret data to influence the opinions of others.

 

[Cubo de Sangre]

Yup. It really sucks. The new studies seem pretty clear that these neonicotinoids have a strong negative effect on honeybees, but the causes of their decline seem to be much more complex than that unfortunately. It would be great if banning these particular pesticides stops the problem, and (without having looked at the economics) I think they should be banned, but I'm very pessimistic on how much of the problem they actually are.

Some of these species decline problems seem to be incredibly complicated, like amphibian declines. It's not so much one factor as many different factors that seem to push them past the point of recovery.

I guess then it's a matter of beginning to isolate/eliminate the variables, so I'll have to agree on removing the (potentially offending) pesticides. I don't know how you deal with mites. People do agree that bee loss could be catastrophic so resistance to extreme measures should be lessened? Like global warming this is a case where 99% of us don't have the skills to assess the situation and we're forced to rely on the conclusions of a relatively few. Then I guess we balance our own selfish needs with how convincing the experts are. Fun stuff!

 

[gogoGomi]

This part of the post is so revealing. You should really try to learn about science, what it is, why it is done before you attempt to interpret data to influence the opinions of others.

Believe it or not, this IS me trying to learn about science. I'm happy to read any input you may have to offer on the subject as you are clearly next level. Also deepest apologies for asserting something you disagree with.

I'm not interested in altering anyone's opinion, only informing my own. I go where the evidence takes me. In this specific case, yes the data gained through field observations is superior to that which may be inferred from the questionable methodology used in the lab studies.