In Canadian news, the Lethbridge Herald is reporting a move against neonicotinoids, thought to be a factor is Colony Collapse Disorder:
Health Canada has announced a 90-day public consultation period on imidacloprid, which is used on everything from cereals, grains, pulses and oilseeds to forestry woodlots and flea infestations on pets.
Neonicotinoids as a class of pesticides have come under heavy scrutiny in recent years for their potential impact on bee populations.
A study by Health Canada found that measurments of imidacloprid in surface water have been found as high as 11.9 parts per billion, while levels above 0.041 parts per billion are a considered to be of scientific concern.
The government is proposing to phase out all agricultural usage and most other outdoor uses of imidacloprid over a period of three to five years.
Ontario’s provincial government moved to restrict the use of imidacloprid last year, as have some European countries.
“Based on currently available information, the continued high volume use of imidacloprid in agricultural areas is not sustainable,” Health Canada said Wednesday.
The Health Canada study of imidacloprid has also prompted the federal department to begin “special reviews” of two other common neonicotinoids, clothianidin and thiamethoxam.
“Health Canada is taking the findings of the re-evaluation of this pesticide seriously, and is taking action to further protect the environment,” Health Minister Jane Philpott said in a release.
(From Tree Frog News.)
Speaking of bees, ever wonder if bees are restricted to pollen and honey for their diet? It turns out the answer is no – targets of sweet opportunity are more than welcome. NewScientist (12 November 2016) reports:
Sugar-rich honeydew is secreted by sap-sucking scale insects, and may tide hungry bees over until spring flowers bloom.
How wild solitary bees survive before the blooms was largely a mystery, says Joan Meiners at the University of Florida in Gainesville. Unlike colony-building honeybees, solitary bees don’t stockpile honey. “There’s really not much that’s known about what bees do when there aren’t flowers,” says Meiners.
Observation and experiments indicates solitary bees will eat the honeydew while awaiting the return of flower blooms.
