tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1812431336777691886.post2286052631074190074..comments2024-02-29T03:57:00.088-05:00Comments on The Mermaid's Tale: Neonicotinoids and colony collapse disorder - err on the side of caution, or just a distraction??Anne Buchananhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09212151396672651221noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1812431336777691886.post-91413588213730656042013-07-27T19:58:25.106-04:002013-07-27T19:58:25.106-04:00To me, the point is the complexity of the issues a...To me, the point is the complexity of the issues and how difficult it is to resolve causation--or to know if it's one cause or a correlated set of recent changes. We can't judge the speciifics of the neonics or any other particular, since it's not an area we work in.Ken Weisshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02049713123559138421noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1812431336777691886.post-64762563750359828862013-07-27T14:56:49.534-04:002013-07-27T14:56:49.534-04:00Canada is experiencing the same problems as the US...Canada is experiencing the same problems as the US and most honeybee colonies in Australia are kept far away from agricultural areas where large amounts of pesticides are used so don’t jump to conclusions. Also Varroa mites have been around a lot longer than neonicotinoids and are visible with the naked eye so beekeepers would know if the hives were infested with these mites.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1812431336777691886.post-23629767995518396222013-06-18T01:20:09.523-04:002013-06-18T01:20:09.523-04:00But there will also be thriving bees with mites. I...But there will also be thriving bees with mites. I suspect the answer is going to be complex.Anne Buchananhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09212151396672651221noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1812431336777691886.post-18908230922651162902013-06-17T23:04:26.670-04:002013-06-17T23:04:26.670-04:00To save the bees, we need to protect the colony fr...To save the bees, we need to protect the colony from the Varroa mites which transmit the now super virulent Distorted Wing Virus (DMV) and any bee killing insecticides. Australia uses the same insecticide with no CCDs observed, there and in Canada, where no mites are found.Wrangler Waynehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13838346637825796048noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1812431336777691886.post-65686746099038125972013-05-02T11:58:42.560-04:002013-05-02T11:58:42.560-04:00It is also interesting that they bring up what eve...It is also interesting that they bring up what everybody know, bee declines are due to lost of habitat and other problem well know for which there readily available interventions. So I think you are very right in the sense that this is just a political decision to calm public opinion.Inti pedrosohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06407610933757021319noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1812431336777691886.post-59035498462572638942013-05-01T18:59:18.856-04:002013-05-01T18:59:18.856-04:00Thanks, Inti. Of course, pharmaceuticals aren'...Thanks, Inti. Of course, pharmaceuticals aren't required to publish the results of their studies, either, something that needs to be changed, both for them and for insecticide manufacturers.<br /><br />And I agree, it was the right decision. But as you point out, we'll have to wait and see where it leads...<br /><br />Anne Buchananhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09212151396672651221noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1812431336777691886.post-49236326305882145212013-05-01T18:12:45.817-04:002013-05-01T18:12:45.817-04:00Interesting comment. There is evidence that these ...Interesting comment. There is evidence that these pesticides do also affect bumble-bees, the whitehorn et al paper you commented but also the more complete and throughout Gill et al (Nature 2012). As far as I understand some of the companies already where planning to take them out of the market anyways ... that is strategy it seems, ones they become polemic they remove and bring one that has no studies. As for their studies, I know people that has requested them but they said you need to go to theirs, in a locked room and read their 100s *articles* on the spot. Obviously, they only publish what they want to and the rest is kept or never shown.<br /><br />The important point here I think is that evidence show that the pesticides (neonicots in particular) have wider effects on the ecosystems at pretty low (way below sub-lethal) concentrations, beyond the CCD problem, as in for example bumble bee colonies and solitary bees. A cautionary measure is not a political decision but the right one, I think.Inti pedrosohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06407610933757021319noreply@blogger.com