Archived News

22nd April 2012

We had a call from our local bee man, Paul wondering whether we’d like to be involved in the Countryfile programme this week.  The researcher had a long conversation with Laurence but decided not to film here as we don’t use neonicotinoid sprays. 

Our agronomist prescribes effective non neonic options. For instance in broad acre crops such as oilseed rape which are foraged by bees, there are effective alternatives for the control of pyrethroid-resistant pollen beetle pre flower and in flower for weevils/midge.

It will be interesting to see the piece Countryfile put together as it may be based around a recent paper published in Science Magazine.

The latest study appears to have exposed bees to a concentration level more than 30 times greater than the average neonic; so it’s difficult to see how any results are relevant to reality.  Insecticides in the UK and Europe have been subject to a stringent, statutory approvals process that includes assessments on their impact upon non-target invertebrates, including honey bees.

In response to the recent paper, Dr Simon Potts of Reading University says ‘‘we still have significant bee losses in areas with no agriculture. We need to be careful about generalising too far. Statements like the one from Dr Rosemary Mason: ‘neonics are responsible for the global collapse of wildlife and eco –systems’ are utter nonsense in the absence of any direct evidence, and do not help the debate, they need ignoring or squashing’’

It remains the Conservation Grade’s view ‘many of wild bee species have declined due to habitat loss and other factors besides pesticide use, for example disease has a significant role in ongoing declines’

In 2010 the BBC interviewed Cedric Alaux at the French National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRA) which had traced a possible link between the diversity of bee diets and the strength of their immune systems.

"We found that bees fed with a mix of five different pollens had higher levels of glucose oxidase compared to bees fed with pollen from one single type of flower, even if that single flower had a higher protein content,"

Bees make glucose oxidase to preserve honey and food for larvae against infestation by microbes - which protects the hive against disease.

"So that would mean they have better antiseptic protection compared to other bees, and so would be more resistant to pathogen invasion," said Dr Alaux.

Bees fed the five-pollen diet also produced more fat than those eating only a single variety - again possibly indicating a more robust immune system, as the insects make anti-microbial chemicals in their fat bodies.

Wild bees are more diverse in what they eat compared with commercial colonies such as in the US where they have lost entire colonies, leading to the term ‘colony collapse disorder’. While cautioning that laboratory research alone cannot prove the case, Dr Alaux said this may tie in with what is happening in the US "where the bees are moved to a plantation of almond trees for example, and there's just one pollen,"

Over the years a variety of reasons have been put forward for the decline bee numbers including:  

• Air pollution may be interfering with the ability of bees to find flowering plants and thus food – scents that could travel more than 800 metres in the 1800s now reach less than 200 metres from a plant.  
• Parasites and pests, such as the Varroa mite
• The increased radiation given off by Mobile phones and wireless communication towers may interfere with bees’ ability to navigate.

Clearly, sound and balanced research is important and it will be of great value to find the cause or causes of bee decline.  We will watch Countryfile with interest to see what angle they choose to take on the subject.