[Pollinator] PESTICIDES: Chemicals 'definitely stressors' for honeybees, scientist says

[Ladadams at aol.com]

PESTICIDES: Chemicals 'definitely stressors' for honeybees,  scientist
says (08/18/2008)(Embedded image moved to file:  pic17922.gif)
Sara Goodman, Greenwire reporter


Pesticides are  common in honeybees, their wax and hives, and the pollen
they carry,  researchers told the American Chemical Society conference
today in  Philadelphia.


Pennsylvania State University scientists reported  finding high levels of
fluvalinate and coumaphos -- pesticides that combat  varroa mites -- in
all comb and foundation wax samples and found lower levels  of 70 other
pesticides in pollen and bees.


"We were not surprised  that we saw some pesticides; we were surprised at
the level," said  Christopher Mullin, an entomologist who was involved
with the research. "We  haven't found any wax sample that does not
contain  pesticides."


The U.S. commercial honeybee industry has lost a record  36 percent of
its colonies so far this year due to "colony collapse  disorder," or CCD,
a mysterious illness that threatens the future of  beekeeping and the
health of several important crops.


Scientists  are probing viruses and other pathogens, parasites,
environmental stresses,  poor nutrition, transport stresses and
pesticides, as well as a combination  of all of those factors. Experts
have also pointed to the use of pesticides  as a serious cause for
concern, but there has not been a direct link between  pesticide use and
the disorder (E&E Daily, June 27).


The Penn  State researchers note that because the disorder does not kill
bees in their  hives and is characterized instead by bees disappearing,
it is difficult to  tie their results with the disorder. However, they
point out that chronic  exposure to pesticides may have unknown effects
on the bees away from the  hives.


"We do not know that these chemicals have anything to do with  colony
collapse disorder, but they are definitely stressors in the home and  in
the food sources," said James Frazier, a Penn State  entomologist.
"Pesticides alone have not shown they are the cause of CCD. We  believe
that it is a combination of a variety of factors, possibly  including
mites, viruses and pesticides."













































































Laurie Davies Adams
Executive Director
Pollinator  Partnership 
423 Washington Street, 5th floor
San Francisco, CA  94111
415-362-1137
LDA at pollinator.org

_www.pollinator.org_ (http://www.pollinator.org/) 

_www.nappc.org_ (http://www.nappc.org/) 

National Pollinator Week is June 22-28, 2009. 
Beecome  involved at _www.pollinator.org_ (http://www.pollinator.org/) 



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