treatments with neonicotinoid products.
This past summer, Home Depot Canada
announced it will be "labelling plants
that contain the pesticide that is blamed
for the death of bees".
(Image 7) Source: Document
available at The Task Force on
Systemic Pesticides, website
http://www.foe.org/beeaction
Studies in the scientific press were
published in rapid succession this past
year. In June, the European-based "Task
Force on Systemic Pesticides" analysed
800 peer reviewed reports and
concluded that neonicotinoids "are a
key factor in the decline of bees". In
July, the journal Functional Ecology
published a paper on bumblebees
foraging behaviour. The co-authors
(including a Canadian researcher at
Guelph University) concluded: "Our
results show that neonicotinoid
exposure has both acute and chronic
effects on overall foraging activity."
(Image 8) Source: Document available
at the University of Reading (United
K i n g d o m ) , w e b s i t e
http://centaur.reading.ac.uk/37205/
A comprehensive review of available
scientific information was published
earlier this year. An international panel
of scientists called for
"an evidence driven
debate" on the topic.
Said the lead
scientist: "Pollinators
are clearly exposed
to neonicotinoid
insecticides – but
seldom lethal doses.
We need a better
understanding of the
consequences of
realistic sub-lethal
doses to the insect individual, bee colony
and pollinator population." Many
persons claim that honeybees do not
absorb enough neonicotinoids in the
field to suffer ill effects, and these
pesticides have replaced older products
that were much more
dangerous to the
health of bees and
humans.
(Image 9) More
information about
g r o u p i n g o f
insecticides from
the Insecticide
Resistance Action
Committee at the
w e b s i t e
http://www.irac-
online.org/documents/moa-
classification/?ext=pdf
What are the neonicotinoid pesticides?
They are identified as Group 4
insecticides on the pesticide container.
This group of insecticide products have
systemic activity –
they are absorbed by
t h e p l a n t a n d
t r a n s p o r t e d t o
untreated plant parts.
S i n c e t h e i r
introduction in the
1990s, their use has
e x p a n d e d t o
comprise about 30%
of the insecticide market.
They are commonly used
in food production and for
seed treatment ahead of
planting.
(Image 10) Front panel
of the insecticide Arena,
labelled for use on
turfgrass. The group
category (4a) is clearly
displayed and indicates
the product is a
neonicotinoid.
In Canada, six active
i n g r e d i e n t s o f
neonicotinoids are now registered for
commercial use. Neonicotinoid
insecticides registered for use on
turfgrass are Merit, Quali-Pro
Imidacloprid, Arena and Clothianidin.
Partial list of commercial
insecticides registered in Canada
t h a t a r e m a d e f r o m
neonicotinoid active ingredients.
Source: Pest Management
Regulatory Agency website at
http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/cps-
s p c / p e s t / r e g i s t r a n t -
titulaire/tools-outils/label-etiq-
eng.php
(Image 11) Credit: Good Fruit
Grower magazine, March
2014
The story does not end with neonicotinoid
insecticides. Researchers are now
examining the impact of pesticides used
in sequence. They call it "synergy", the
combined action of two agents that
together increase each other's
effectiveness. In this case, one plus one
does not equal two – it may equal 7.
Fungicides are not normally a threat to
bees, but they
may act as
synergists and
increase the
toxicity of
insecticides by
a factor of
s e v e n .
Researchers at
Pennsylvania State University have found
four pesticides which kill honeybee larvae
in the hive. One product is chlorothalonil,
sold as Daconil and Bravo. Adult bees
are not killed by direct contact but take
pollen with fungicide residue into the
hive to feed the larvae.
(Image 12) Credit: Cover page of
the Abstract Booklet, 2nd
International Conference on
Pollinator Biology, Health and Policy,
held at Pennsylvania State University
in August 2013 Website
http://ento.psu.edu/pollinators/mis
/2013-international-conference-
on-pollinator-biology-health-and-
policy
At the 2013 International Conference
on Pollinator Biology, Health and Policy,
held at The Pennsylvania State
University, one study found blue orchard
bees and alfalfa leaf-cutter bees had
trouble finding their own nests after
foraging in outdoor fields that
researchers sprayed with the fungicides
Rovral (iprodione) or Pristine
(pyraclostrobin and boscalid).
(Image 13) Credit: Globe and Mail,
September 4, 2014
This story will not go away. In early
September, beekeepers in Ontario filed
a lawsuit seeking $450 million in
damages, alleging unrecoverable costs
Continued From Previous Page
Continued On Page 41
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TURF LINE NEWS
