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A certain pesticide that’s been found to harm bees is no longer approved for use in the United States, after a federal appeals court struck down the Environmental Protection Agency’s authorization of it Thursday.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found that the EPA shouldn’t have signed off on Dow AgroSciences’ sulfoxaflor, which is sold under the brand names Transform and Closer, because it didn’t seek necessary, additional tests on it.
“Because the EPA’s decision to unconditionally register sulfoxaflor was based on flawed and limited data, we conclude that the unconditional approval was not supported by substantial evidence,” the court’s opinion reads. “We therefore vacate the EPA’s registration of sulfoxaflor.”
Because existing tests found that the pesticide — which is part of a broad class of insecticides called neonicotinoids — was toxic to bees, letting sulfoxaflor stay approved would have been dangerous for the environment, Circuit Judge Mary Schroeder said.
That is good news!Great news, bee populations have been dropping and that is harmful to all of us.
Court Rules Pesticide That’s Been Found To Harm Bees Is No Longer Approved In The U.S.
A certain pesticide that’s been found to harm bees is no longer approved for use in the United States, after a federal appeals court struck down the Environmental Protection Agency’s authorization of it Thursday.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found that the EPA shouldn’t have signed off on Dow AgroSciences’ sulfoxaflor, which is sold under the brand names Transform and Closer, because it didn’t seek necessary, additional tests on it.
“Because the EPA’s decision to unconditionally register sulfoxaflor was based on flawed and limited data, we conclude that the unconditional approval was not supported by substantial evidence,” the court’s opinion reads. “We therefore vacate the EPA’s registration of sulfoxaflor.”
Because existing tests found that the pesticide — which is part of a broad class of insecticides called neonicotinoids — was toxic to bees, letting sulfoxaflor stay approved would have been dangerous for the environment, Circuit Judge Mary Schroeder said.
Sounds awesome, I love insects and would love to do something like that, I am planning on starting an ant colony soon, although it's not bees, but just look at how cool a colony can be:Let's hope its not too late and they make a come back.
Our hive died two years ago, then a wild swarm moved in and seemed to be doing well. but, we had to re-home them because we're selling the house.
Now have a new hive at the lake house and if no one moves in, we'll buy a swarm next spring.
Good. Those fuckers have damned near wiped out the bees in my area. Its a god damn shame I get excited when I see a bee more than a butterfly..Great news, bee populations have been dropping and that is harmful to all of us.
Court Rules Pesticide That’s Been Found To Harm Bees Is No Longer Approved In The U.S.
A certain pesticide that’s been found to harm bees is no longer approved for use in the United States, after a federal appeals court struck down the Environmental Protection Agency’s authorization of it Thursday.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found that the EPA shouldn’t have signed off on Dow AgroSciences’ sulfoxaflor, which is sold under the brand names Transform and Closer, because it didn’t seek necessary, additional tests on it.
“Because the EPA’s decision to unconditionally register sulfoxaflor was based on flawed and limited data, we conclude that the unconditional approval was not supported by substantial evidence,” the court’s opinion reads. “We therefore vacate the EPA’s registration of sulfoxaflor.”
Because existing tests found that the pesticide — which is part of a broad class of insecticides called neonicotinoids — was toxic to bees, letting sulfoxaflor stay approved would have been dangerous for the environment, Circuit Judge Mary Schroeder said.
Great news, bee populations have been dropping and that is harmful to all of us.
Court Rules Pesticide That’s Been Found To Harm Bees Is No Longer Approved In The U.S.
A certain pesticide that’s been found to harm bees is no longer approved for use in the United States, after a federal appeals court struck down the Environmental Protection Agency’s authorization of it Thursday.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found that the EPA shouldn’t have signed off on Dow AgroSciences’ sulfoxaflor, which is sold under the brand names Transform and Closer, because it didn’t seek necessary, additional tests on it.
“Because the EPA’s decision to unconditionally register sulfoxaflor was based on flawed and limited data, we conclude that the unconditional approval was not supported by substantial evidence,” the court’s opinion reads. “We therefore vacate the EPA’s registration of sulfoxaflor.”
Because existing tests found that the pesticide — which is part of a broad class of insecticides called neonicotinoids — was toxic to bees, letting sulfoxaflor stay approved would have been dangerous for the environment, Circuit Judge Mary Schroeder said.
Sounds awesome, I love insects and would love to do something like that, I am planning on starting an ant colony soon, although it's not bees, but just look at how cool a colony can be:Let's hope its not too late and they make a come back.
Our hive died two years ago, then a wild swarm moved in and seemed to be doing well. but, we had to re-home them because we're selling the house.
Now have a new hive at the lake house and if no one moves in, we'll buy a swarm next spring.
Sounds awesome, I love insects and would love to do something like that, I am planning on starting an ant colony soon, although it's not bees, but just look at how cool a colony can be:Let's hope its not too late and they make a come back.
Our hive died two years ago, then a wild swarm moved in and seemed to be doing well. but, we had to re-home them because we're selling the house.
Now have a new hive at the lake house and if no one moves in, we'll buy a swarm next spring.
You OK with having a non-native ant colony?? Seems a bit risky for the entertainment value....
Ortho announced Tuesday it will eliminate the chemical known as neonics in three brands of pest control sprays and powders for trees, roses and other flowers by next year, and in all its products by 2021. "The decision comes after careful consideration regarding the range of possible threats to honeybees and other pollinators," Ortho general manager Tim Martin said Tuesday. "While agencies in the United States are still evaluating the overall impact of neonics on pollinator populations, it is time for Ortho to move on."
The Environmental Protection Agency is still studying the effects of neonics on bees and butterflies. Other large pesticide manufacturers say all the research to date may be overstated. But many scientists are convinced that certain pesticides are contributing to killing off honeybee populations around the world by attacking the bees' central nervous systems.
Bees in their hive.
Honeybees are responsible for pollinating 80 percent of many fruits and vegetables that are part of the human diet and essential for good health. Ortho is encouraging other companies to follow its lead. It also says it is joining with a group called the Pollinator Stewardship Council to promote bee habitats and educate consumers on the proper use of pesticides.
Last week, the legislature in the state of Maryland passed a law banning consumers from using pesticides with neocins, declaring that only professionals, including farmers and veterinarians, can apply such treatments. If Maryland's governor signs the bill, Maryland would be the first state in the nation to partially ban neonics.
Suspected Bee-Killing Chemical to be Phased Out by Top US Seller
Death came suddenly to Dorchester County, S.C. Stressed insects tried to flee their nests, only to surrender in little clumps at hive entrances. The dead worker bees littering the farms suggested that colony collapse disorder was not the culprit — in that odd phenomenon, workers vanish as though raptured, leaving a living queen and young bees behind. Instead, the dead heaps signaled the killer was less mysterious, but no less devastating. The pattern matched acute pesticide poisoning. By one estimate, at a single apiary — Flowertown Bee Farm and Supply, in Summerville — 46 hives died on the spot, totaling about 2.5 million bees. Walking through the farm, one Summerville woman wrote on Facebook, was “like visiting a cemetery, pure sadness.”
Municipal health workers and a truck fumigate on the northern outskirts of Gwangju, South Korea. The effort to eliminate possible mosquito breeding grounds comes a day after South Korea reported its first case of the Zika virus.
A Clemson University scientist collected soil samples from Flowertown on Tuesday, according to WCBD-TV, to further investigate the cause of death. But to the bee farmers, the reason is already clear. Their bees had been poisoned by Dorchester’s own insecticide efforts, casualties in the war on disease-carrying mosquitoes. On Sunday morning, parts of Dorchester County were sprayed with Naled, a common insecticide that kills mosquitoes on contact. The United States began using Naled in 1959, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, which notes that the chemical dissipates so quickly it is not a hazard to people. That said, human exposure to Naled during spraying “should not occur.”
In parts of South Carolina, trucks trailing pesticide clouds are not an unusual sight, thanks to a mosquito-control program that also includes destroying larvae. Given the current concerns of West Nile virus and Zika — there are several dozen cases of travel-related Zika in South Carolina, though the state health department reports no one has yet acquired the disease from a local mosquito bite — Dorchester decided to try something different Sunday. It marked a departure from Dorchester County’s usual ground-based efforts. For the first time, an airplane dispensed Naled in a fine mist, raining insect death from above between 6:30 a.m. and 8:30 a.m. Sunday. The county says it provided plenty of warning, spreading word about the pesticide plane via a newspaper announcement Friday and a Facebook post Saturday. Local beekeepers felt differently.
MORE
The United States is on a mission to save some of its busiest workers: bees.
In a first for bees in the nation, seven bee species native to Hawaii are now protected under the Endangered Species Act. The US Fish and Wildlife Service said it added the yellow-faced bee species to the federal list of endangered species Friday night after years of research concluded they are under threat. The rule is effective October 31.
Making a beeline for disaster
Bees pollinate plants producing fruit, nuts and vegetables, and are crucial for the nation's food industry. They have declined sharply in recent years due to various factors, including habitat loss, pesticides, wildfires and loss of genetic diversity. "Native pollinators in the US provide essential pollination services to agriculture which are valued at more than $9 billion annually," said Eric Lee-Mäder, pollinator program co-director at the Xerces Society, which was involved in petitions calling for the protection of the bee species.
During pollination, insects, birds and bats transfer pollen between plants, which allows them to make seeds and reproduce. Listing the bees allows authorities to provide recovery programs and get funding for protection.
Bees placed on endangered species list -- a first in the US - CNN.com
Now bees are an endangered species...
Bees placed on endangered species list
Sunday 2nd October, 2016 - S lists seven bee species as endangered; The species listed are native to Hawaii
The United States is on a mission to save some of its busiest workers: bees.
In a first for bees in the nation, seven bee species native to Hawaii are now protected under the Endangered Species Act. The US Fish and Wildlife Service said it added the yellow-faced bee species to the federal list of endangered species Friday night after years of research concluded they are under threat. The rule is effective October 31.
Making a beeline for disaster
Bees pollinate plants producing fruit, nuts and vegetables, and are crucial for the nation's food industry. They have declined sharply in recent years due to various factors, including habitat loss, pesticides, wildfires and loss of genetic diversity. "Native pollinators in the US provide essential pollination services to agriculture which are valued at more than $9 billion annually," said Eric Lee-Mäder, pollinator program co-director at the Xerces Society, which was involved in petitions calling for the protection of the bee species.
During pollination, insects, birds and bats transfer pollen between plants, which allows them to make seeds and reproduce. Listing the bees allows authorities to provide recovery programs and get funding for protection.
Bees placed on endangered species list -- a first in the US - CNN.com
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service told The Associated Press it was adding the bee to the endangered list, and would develop a recovery plan encouraging people to provide more habitat and reduce pesticide usage. Many of the steps needed to rescue the rusty patched bumblebee might also help other struggling bees and monarch butterflies, which pollinate a wide variety of plants, including cultivated fruits and vegetables, officials said. “Pollinators are small but mighty parts of the natural mechanism that sustains us and our world,” said Tom Melius, the service's Midwest regional director. “Without them, our forests, parks, meadows and shrublands, and the abundant, vibrant life they support, cannot survive, and our crops require laborious, costly pollination by hand.”
Rusty patched bumblebees alight on a flower in Peoria, Illinois
The rusty patched bumblebee buzzed across the East Coast and much of the Midwest in high numbers as recently as the 1990s. Today, only scattered populations remain in 13 states — Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia and Wisconsin — and the Canadian province of Ontario. The bee’s historic range and the number of observed colonies have plummeted by about 87 percent since the late 1990s.
Cause of decline unknown
The crash happened so quickly that few researchers took notice until the damage was largely done. They're investigating a number of potential causes, including disease, pesticide exposure, habitat loss, climate change and the domino effect of falling populations making it harder for bees to find suitable mates.
The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, which petitioned the government to list the rusty patched bumblebee as endangered, previously said the bumblebee's decline probably was caused by the spread of bacteria or viruses from bumblebees raised commercially to those in the wild. The group, based in Portland, Oregon, also blamed widespread use of long-lasting insecticides. “The Fish and Wildlife Service has relied upon the best available science and we welcome this decision,” Rich Hatfield, the society's senior conservation biologist, said Tuesday. “Addressing the threats that the rusty patched bumblebee faces will help not only this species, but countless other native pollinators that are so critical to the functioning of natural ecosystems and agriculture.”
Continent-wide concern
