Scientists Link Mass Death of Honey Bees to Farm Insecticide ( Archived) (32)

Research by Purdue University
1/20/12

Honeybee populations have been in serious decline for years, and Purdue University scientists may have identified one of the factors that cause bee deaths around agricultural fields.

Analyses of bees found dead in and around hives from several apiaries over two years in Indiana showed the presence of neonicotinoid insecticides, which are commonly used to coat corn and soybean seeds before planting. The research showed that those insecticides were present at high concentrations in waste talc that is exhausted from farm machinery during planting. Other bees at those hives exhibited tremors, uncoordinated movement and convulsions, all signs of insecticide poisoning.


The insecticides clothianidin and thiamethoxam were also consistently found at low levels in soil – up to two years after treated seed was planted – on nearby dandelion flowers and in corn pollen gathered by the bees.


“We know that these insecticides are highly toxic to bees; we found them in each sample of dead and dying bees,” said Christian Krupke, associate professor of entomology and a co-author of the findings.

The United States is losing about one-third of its honeybee hives each year, according to Greg Hunt, a Purdue professor of behavioral genetics, honeybee specialist and co-author of the findings. Hunt said no one factor is to blame, though scientists believe that others such as mites and insecticides are all working against the bees, which are important for pollinating food crops and wild plants.

“It’s like death by a thousand cuts for these bees,” Hunt said.

Seeds of most annual crops are coated in neonicotinoid insecticides for protection after planting. All corn seed and about half of all soybean seed is treated. The coatings are sticky, and in order to keep seeds flowing freely in the vacuum systems used in planters, they are mixed with talc. Excess talc used in the process is released during planting and routine planter cleaning procedures.

“Given the rates of corn planting and talc usage, we are blowing large amounts of contaminated talc into the environment. The dust is quite light and appears to be quite mobile,” Krupke said.

Krupke said the corn pollen that bees were bringing back to hives later in the year tested positive for neonicotinoids at levels roughly below 100 parts per billion.

“That’s enough to kill bees if sufficient amounts are consumed, but it is not acutely toxic,” he said.

On the other hand, the exhausted talc showed extremely high levels of the insecticides – up to about 700,000 times the lethal contact dose for a bee.

Krupke suggested that efforts could be made to limit or eliminate talc emissions during planting.

“That’s the first target for corrective action,” he said. “It stands out as being an enormous source of potential environmental contamination, not just for honeybees, but for any insects living in or near these fields. The fact that these compounds can persist for months or years means that plants growing in these soils can take up these compounds in leaf tissue or pollen.”

Although corn and soybean production does not require insect pollinators, that is not the case for most plants that provide food. Krupke said protecting bees benefits agriculture since most fruit, nut and vegetable crop plants depend upon honeybees for pollination. The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates the value of honeybees to commercial agriculture at $15 billion to $20 billion annually.

Hunt said he would continue to study the sublethal effects of neonicotinoids. He said for bees that do not die from the insecticide there could be other effects, such as loss of homing ability or less resistance to disease or mites.

“I think we need to stop and try to understand the risks associated with these insecticides,” Hunt said.

The North American Pollinator Protection Campaign and the USDA’s Agriculture and Food Research Initiative funded the research.

Ive been following "Colony collapse disorder" for some time. Its truly alarming! I believe awareness is everything...As Dr. David Suzuki stated...the bees and frogs are our canary in the coal-mine. Once the bees are gone...so are we. We must wake up and act to protect them.

It is not difficult to work out what is going on.
Transnational companies such as Monsanto want to create a global monopoly on the supply of seeds and agricultural chemicals.
They create a need for these agricultural chemicals by genetically engineering seeds that are weak . . . defective . . . that cannot grow without the use of artificial pesticide and fertilisers.
These GM crops cannot reproduce by natural means. Farmers cannot keep some seed to plant the next crop, because the seeds that are grown are sterile. The farmer must buy fertile seeds from Monsanto et al. They are known as terminator seeds.
Bees are essential for the pollination of natural crops, of the non-GM crops.
Monsanto et al then set about creating chemicals and genetically engineering diseases that will wipe out the bees and thereby force farmers to buy the Monsanto terminator seeds.
The fact that during the process of this Monsanto et al will devastate the planet and cause the extinction of millions of plant and animal species does not cause them to lose a moment of sleep. These people are beyond being merely evil.