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<DIV>PESTICIDES: Chemicals 'definitely stressors' for honeybees,
scientist<BR>says (08/18/2008)(Embedded image moved to file:
pic17922.gif)<BR>Sara Goodman, Greenwire reporter<BR><BR><BR>Pesticides are
common in honeybees, their wax and hives, and the pollen<BR>they carry,
researchers told the American Chemical Society conference<BR>today in
Philadelphia.<BR><BR><BR>Pennsylvania State University scientists reported
finding high levels of<BR>fluvalinate and coumaphos -- pesticides that combat
varroa mites -- in<BR>all comb and foundation wax samples and found lower levels
of 70 other<BR>pesticides in pollen and bees.<BR><BR><BR>"We were not surprised
that we saw some pesticides; we were surprised at<BR>the level," said
Christopher Mullin, an entomologist who was involved<BR>with the research. "We
haven't found any wax sample that does not<BR>contain
pesticides."<BR><BR><BR>The U.S. commercial honeybee industry has lost a record
36 percent of<BR>its colonies so far this year due to "colony collapse
disorder," or CCD,<BR>a mysterious illness that threatens the future of
beekeeping and the<BR>health of several important crops.<BR><BR><BR>Scientists
are probing viruses and other pathogens, parasites,<BR>environmental stresses,
poor nutrition, transport stresses and<BR>pesticides, as well as a combination
of all of those factors. Experts<BR>have also pointed to the use of pesticides
as a serious cause for<BR>concern, but there has not been a direct link between
pesticide use and<BR>the disorder (E&E Daily, June 27).<BR><BR><BR>The Penn
State researchers note that because the disorder does not kill<BR>bees in their
hives and is characterized instead by bees disappearing,<BR>it is difficult to
tie their results with the disorder. However, they<BR>point out that chronic
exposure to pesticides may have unknown effects<BR>on the bees away from the
hives.<BR><BR><BR>"We do not know that these chemicals have anything to do with
colony<BR>collapse disorder, but they are definitely stressors in the home and
in<BR>the food sources," said James Frazier, a Penn State
entomologist.<BR>"Pesticides alone have not shown they are the cause of CCD. We
believe<BR>that it is a combination of a variety of factors, possibly
including<BR>mites, viruses and pesticides."<BR></DIV>
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<DIV><FONT lang=0 face="Gill Sans MT" size=2 FAMILY="SANSSERIF"
PTSIZE="10"><BR><BR>Laurie Davies Adams<BR>Executive Director<BR><B>Pollinator
Partnership </B><BR>423 Washington Street, 5th floor<BR>San Francisco, CA
94111<BR>415-362-1137<BR>LDA@pollinator.org</FONT><FONT lang=0 face=Arial
color=#000000 size=2 FAMILY="SANSSERIF" PTSIZE="10"><BR><BR></FONT><FONT lang=0
face="Gill Sans MT" color=#0000ff size=4 FAMILY="SANSSERIF" PTSIZE="14"><B><A
href="http://www.pollinator.org/">www.pollinator.org</A></B></FONT><FONT lang=0
face="Gill Sans MT" color=#000000 size=2 FAMILY="SANSSERIF"
PTSIZE="10"></B><BR><A
href="http://www.nappc.org/">www.nappc.org</A><BR><BR></FONT><FONT lang=0
face="Gill Sans MT" color=#000000 size=3 FAMILY="SANSSERIF"
PTSIZE="12"><B><I>National Pollinator Week is June 22-28, 2009. <BR>Beecome
involved at <A
href="http://www.pollinator.org/">www.pollinator.org</A></I></FONT></B></DIV></FONT><BR><BR><BR><DIV><FONT style="color: black; font: normal 10pt ARIAL, SAN-SERIF;"><HR style="MARGIN-TOP: 10px">It's only a deal if it's where <I>you</I> want to go. Find your travel deal <A title="http://information.travel.aol.com/deals?ncid=aoltrv00050000000047" href="http://information.travel.aol.com/deals?ncid=aoltrv00050000000047" target="_blank"><B>here</B></A>.</FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>