[NatureNS] Neonicatinoids & Fibronil

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Date: Thu, 26 Jun 2014 16:20:05 -0300
From: Bev Wigney <bkwigney@gmail.com>
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r&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;s
Mary, and all.  I'm curious about the use of neonicotinoids in
mosquito zappers.  I didn't know that it was used this way.  That
said, I've just been looking online and see all kind of household
insecticide products that are using neonicotinoids.  Here is a link to
one list on the Xerces Society website.
http://www.xerces.org/wings-magazine/neonicotinoids-in-your-garden/

By the way, shortly after posting my earlier message, I came across a
newspaper article on a bee hive kill incident in Oregon on June 21.
I'm not sure if the incident is related to an incident reported just
below, but in that one, it was disclosed that a kill occurred due to
misuse of a neonicotinoid pesticide on some linden trees around an
apartment building.  Pretty awful.  I can see how easy it would be to
immediately wipe out a lot of insects in an area if these products are
misused.  Here's a link to the story for anyone who is interested in
this topic.
http://www.statesmanjournal.com/story/tech/science/environment/2014/06/20/mass-bee-die-offs-reported-portland-area/11098907/

bev wigney
Round Hill in summer

On 6/26/14, Mary Macaulay <Marymacaulay@hotmail.com> wrote:
> People are using them in mosquito zappers at well in recreational areas and
> this is what brought them toy attention as I'm a keen dragonfly watcher. The
> large aeschnas have been especially effected as they have large territories
> up and down the lake. They used to be very abundant just a few years ago but
> now I seldom see them. Other insects up at Angevine have also declined
> markedly. For example I used to have a terrible time with wasps at the
> hummingbird feeders. Now none!!
>
> With kindest regards
> Mary (Macaulay)
> marymacaulay@hotmail.com
> @maryemacaulay
>
> "What we think, or what we know, or what we believe is, in the end, of
> little consequence. The only consequence is what we do."
> -- John Ruskin
>
>> On Jun 26, 2014, at 2:25 PM, Bev Wigney <bkwigney@gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> For further reading, I have linked to a paper stored as a .pdf on the
>> Ontario Beekeepers' Association website (see link below).
>>
>> Speaking for myself, I find much of the information in this document
>> to be very troubling. For one, the discussion of half-life in soil
>> certainly raises a red flag as far as I'm concerned.  See page 3.
>> "For the most commonly used seed treatments, reported half-lives in
>> soil typically range from 200 to in excess of 1000 days."  There is
>> more about the residue getting into groundwater and watersheds.
>>
>> I do wonder about all of this - not just with regard to bees, but
>> other insects as well.  This will be my fifth summer at my place
>> outside Annapolis Royal.  I have been putting out moth lights at night
>> each summer.  The first two summers here (2010 and 2011), I was quite
>> thrilled by the moths coming to the lamps.  Unfortunately, things have
>> gone downhill since then.  Last summer, I tried putting up different
>> lights and it made no great improvement.  Now I am at the point of
>> barely feeling it worthwhile to bother anymore.  I have puzzled over
>> what is going on - if there was some kind of forestry spraying taking
>> place that I was unaware of.  More recently, I've considered
>> neonicotinoids, but dismissed them as I did not think they would be in
>> use nearby.  However, upon more consideration, I realize that there
>> are very large corn fields at probably well less than 500 meters
>> distance as the bee flies.  After reading the linked document, I'm
>> thinking that is actually pretty close.
>>
>> Anyhow, here is the link to which I am referring:
>>
>> Journal of Applied Ecology 2013, 50, 977–987
>> Review
>> An overview of the environmental risks posedby neonicotinoid insecticides
>> Dave Goulson
>> Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Stirling,
>> Stirling, FK9 4LA, UK
>>
>> http://www.ontariobee.com/sites/ontariobee.com/files/Goulson's_review_June_2013_J_appl_Ecol.pdf
>>
>>> On 6/26/14, David & Alison Webster <dwebster@glinx.com> wrote:
>>> Dear All,
>>>    Questions about Neonicatinoids & Fibronil came up recently just before
>>> I
>>> became aware of recent reports.
>>>
>>> http://www.environmentalleader.com/2014/06/25/clear-evidence-neonicotinoids-a-key-factor-in-bee-decline/
>>>
>>>    When there is this much smoke there must be some fire. The practice
>>> of
>>> coating seeds with a systemic insecticide, that so I understand renders
>>> all
>>> tissue of that plant toxic to insects, is in itself sufficient to set off
>>> my
>>> alarm bells.
>>>
>>>    The above coupled with-
>>> http://qz.com/107970/scientists-discover-whats-killing-the-bees-and-its-worse-than-you-thought/
>>>
>>> show that use of pesticides should be governed by restraint.
>>>
>>>    As an aside, much of the pioneering research in Biological Control
>>> (AKA
>>> Integrated Pest Control) was carried out at Kentville largely with the
>>> objective, on principle, of using the least practicable quantity of
>>> pesticide.
>>>
>>> Yt, Dave Webster, Kentville
>

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