• Home
  • Energy
  • Sustainability
  • Climate Change
    • Eco Editorial
  • Environment
    • Environmental Issues
      • Environmental Pollution
      • Global Warming
      • Population Explosion
      • Renewable Energy
      • Species Extinction
      • Sustainable Management of Resources
    • Animals
    • Pollution
    • Environmental Policy
  • Green Technology
    • Green Tips
  • Contact Us
  • Home
  • Energy
  • Sustainability
  • Climate Change
    • Eco Editorial
  • Environment
    • Environmental Issues
      • Environmental Pollution
      • Global Warming
      • Population Explosion
      • Renewable Energy
      • Species Extinction
      • Sustainable Management of Resources
    • Animals
    • Pollution
    • Environmental Policy
  • Green Technology
    • Green Tips
  • Contact Us
Colony Collapse Disorder: Past, Present, Future
July 4, 2013
Photo Credit: Some rights reserved by Putneypics via Flickr.

Photo Credit: Some rights reserved by Putneypics via Flickr.

Contents

Past

Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) started popping up in the news around 2006. Not many people knew what the problem was attributed to back then, but a lot of people had sneaking suspicions. Even back then, man-made influences were the first suspects, for example pollution or pesticides.

Then articles starting coming out of small studies that suggested that bees couldn’t find flowers anymore because flowers were losing their scent. It clearly concluded that due to pollution, flowers scent molecules no longer travel as far as they use to. Air pollution was then identified as a potential link to literally killing the scent trail that pollinators like honeybees use to track down flowers. While it was too difficult to say whether this was the sole cause of colony collapse disorder back then, it was certainly recognized as a contributing factor because researchers at the University of Virginia were confident they proved pollutants were killing scent trails.

Eco Fact:
1/3 of the nations food supply depends on honeybee pollination including apples, almonds, blueberries, melons, and citrus fruits.

The “prime suspect” for the collapse even in 2006-2007, was an increasingly popular class of pesticides called neonicotinoids that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency determined as highly toxic to honeybees.

Several veteran honeybee keepers around the country were speaking out, sounding the alarms, and proclaiming that the industry was on the verge of collapse.

Reports from more than 22 states were claiming that they were seeing honeybee deaths, some reporting over 50% of their colonies dying off. Upon dissection of the dead honeybees, abnormally high number of foreign fungi, bacteria and other organisms were found to have left there immune systems weakened. Other researchers suspected that pesticides might had something to do with it.

At the time, my opinion on the matter was that it was a combination of pesticides, greenhouse gas emissions, pollution, and general human negligence.

Present

50,000 BumbleBee deaths were attributed to pesticide use in Oregon … specifically the pesticide Safari. The Oregon Department of Agriculture confirmed the mis-use of the pesticide was the cause of the mass bee deaths in Wilsonville, Oregon.
The main ingredient is Safari is dinotefuran, a neonicotinoid. Neonicotinoids are known to be toxic to bees and has been a suspect cause for ‘colony collapse disorder’. The European Union has even gone as far as issuing a ban this year on 3 types of neonicotinoids (clothianidin, imidacloprid, and thiametoxam) that will go into effect this December.

According to the EPA:

Neonicotinoids:

“are a class of insecticides with a common mode of action that affects the central nervous system of insects, causing paralysis and death..Some uncertainties have been identified since their initial registration regarding the potential environmental fate and effects of neonicotinoid pesticides, particularly as they relate to pollinators.”

“Data suggest that neonicotinic residues can accumulate in pollen and nectar of treated plants and may represent a potential exposure to pollinators. Adverse effects data as well as beekill incidents have also been reported, highlighting the potential direct and/or indirect effects of neonicotinic pesticides. Therefore, among other refinements to ecological risk assessment during registration review, the Agency will consider potential effects of the neonicotinoids to honeybees and other pollinating insects.”

 

As a result of the 50,000 bumblebee deaths in Oregon, the Department of Agriculture issued a temporary ban itself on 18 insecticides with the active ingredient dinotefuran. While the 6 month moratorium has started in Oregon on the ban of neonics, local non-profits like Beyond Toxics are calling for an outright ban.

What we know now is that scientists from all over the world are looking very closely at this issue. From what it looks like, multiple issues seem to be at play ranging from parasitic mite, multiple viruses, bacteria, poor nutrition, genetics, habitat loss and pesticides.

RT @freshthemovie: What’s causing our bees to disappear? Viruses, pesticides, mites and more: http://t.co/SzwW8EhZNo #ecomonday #savebees

— myEARTH360 (@myEARTH360) May 6, 2013

Many environmentalists have taken the plight of the honeybee to heart by calling on bans of neonicotinoids (neonics) which are a sort of new class of systemic pesticides. This makes the pesticides accumulate in the plant matter and subsequently the pollen which makes it toxic for honeybees and other insects (even the good ones).

Six years and 10 million dead hives later, do we understand what’s causing colony collapse disorder? http://t.co/X1JfJysVZE #BeeWeek

— Modern Farmer (@ModFarm) May 7, 2013

Beekeepers in the United States are teaming up with non-profits like the Pesticides Action Network to help get neonics banned through the EPA. Some beekeepers are going as far as suing the EPA to help protect honeybees and the honey/pollinating industry.

Man named US beekeeper of year seeks solutions to stop colony collapse disorder: http://t.co/4kNM3fms67 -RD

— The Associated Press (@AP) April 7, 2013

It’s no wonder why so many people are pointing the finger at neonics, when farmers like Dave Schuit from Elmwood, Canada lost at least 600 hives representing over 37 million honeybees! Farmer Dave says Bayer CropScience is to blame because they are the manufacturers of these pesticides.

Future

When the European Food And Safety Authority has its own scientists identify potential risks to honeybees from Neonicotinoids then we could all take a step back and remember something called the Precautionary Principle.

Since Italy banned a neonicotinoid insecticide, bee colony collapse disorder has virtually disappeared. http://t.co/sh4yYSYJGu

— Non-GMO Report (@nongmoreport) July 4, 2013

If researchers and scientists can come together and at least agree that pesticides are a part of the problem to mass honeybee deaths, then as a society, we should do what we can to protect these important pollinators and our overall general health. We must remind ourselves that pesticides are poisons that we willingly spray on our food supply which we would all rather do without.

The temporary bans on neonics going into effect around the world are an encouraging sign that more precautions need to be taken before allowing poison companies to release their products into the environment without fully testing their products.

Toxics
Share

Sustainability  / Toxics

John Tarantino
My name is John Tarantino … and no, I am not related to Quinton Tarantino the movie director. I love writing about the environment, traveling, and capturing the world with my Lens as an amateur photographer.

Leave a reply


Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

  • Recent Posts

    • The Environmental Impact Of Biomedical Waste And How To Reduce It
    • What Are the Most Eco-Friendly Types of Water Filters?
    • The Top 7 Eco-Friendly Kitchen Cabinet Picks For 2023
    • How To Sustain A Carbon-Neutral Lifestyle
    • Sustainable Fishing Methods to Fish More Responsibly
  • Categories

    • Animals
    • Climate Change
    • Eco Editorial
    • Energy
    • Environment
    • Environmental Policy
    • Green Food
    • Green Technology
    • Green Tips
    • Green Travel
    • Infographics
    • Other Stories
    • Pollution
    • Recycle
    • Sustainability
    • Toxics
    • Uncategorized
  • Archives

    • March 2023
    • February 2023
    • January 2023
    • December 2022
    • November 2022
    • October 2022
    • September 2022
    • August 2022
    • July 2022
    • June 2022
    • May 2022
    • April 2022
    • March 2022
    • February 2022
    • January 2022
    • December 2021
    • November 2021
    • October 2021
    • September 2021
    • August 2021
    • July 2021
    • June 2021
    • May 2021
    • April 2021
    • March 2021
    • February 2021
    • January 2021
    • December 2020
    • November 2020
    • October 2020
    • September 2020
    • August 2020
    • July 2020
    • June 2020
    • May 2020
    • April 2020
    • March 2020
    • February 2020
    • January 2020
    • December 2019
    • November 2019
    • October 2019
    • September 2019
    • August 2019
    • July 2019
    • June 2019
    • May 2019
    • April 2019
    • March 2019
    • February 2019
    • January 2019
    • December 2018
    • November 2018
    • October 2018
    • September 2018
    • August 2018
    • July 2018
    • June 2018
    • May 2018
    • April 2018
    • March 2018
    • February 2018
    • January 2018
    • December 2017
    • November 2017
    • October 2017
    • September 2017
    • August 2017
    • July 2017
    • June 2017
    • May 2017
    • April 2017
    • March 2017
    • February 2017
    • January 2017
    • December 2016
    • November 2016
    • October 2016
    • September 2016
    • August 2016
    • July 2016
    • June 2016
    • May 2014
    • March 2014
    • February 2014
    • January 2014
    • December 2013
    • November 2013
    • October 2013
    • September 2013
    • August 2013
    • July 2013
    • June 2013
    • May 2011



Home | About | Advertise With Us | Bike The Netherlands | Current Environmental Issues | Eco Editorial | Contact