insecticides | Common News Update

Nov42019 by adminNo Comments

Insecticides linked to freshwater fishery collapse in Japan

Science

Nov. 1 (UPI) -- New research suggests the use of neonicotinoid pesticides by rice farmers contributed to the collapse of two freshwater fisheries in Japan. In 1993, fishers in Lake Shinji noticed a sudden drop off in the number of fish being hauled in. The collapse followed the adoption of neonicotinoid usage by rice farmers in the region. Neonicotinoid use has previously been linked to the collapse of bee and other pollinator populations. To suss out possible causes of the fisheries collapse, scientists examined 10 years of water quality data collected by previous survey efforts, collected both before and after the collapse. Scientists described their research efforts in a new paper published this week in the journal Science. While the direct effects of toxic chemicals on animals can be...

Insecticides that threaten bees also harm damselflies, study finds

Science

July 5 (UPI) -- New research suggests damselflies are being harmed by thiacloprid, a common neonicotinoid insecticide used by farmers to kill aphids and whiteflies. When researchers first began testing the efficacy and safety of neonicotinoids, insecticides synthetically derived from nicotine, they determined the chemicals only harmed insects that actually ate the sprayed crops. Thus, only the targeted pests would be killed. But over the last decade, dozens have studies have shown this assumption to be false and identified neonicotinoid exposure as the primary driver of colony collapse disorder and the decline of honey bees all over the world. The latest study, published this week in the Journal of Applied Ecology, suggests other bystanders are also being negatively affected, including d...

EU bans use of three neonicotinoid insecticides blamed for bee decline

Science

April 27 (UPI) -- After an extensive scientific review and intense debate, the European Commission, a legislative body of the European Union, voted on Friday to ban three neonicotinoid insecticides blamed for killing both wild bees and honeybees.Farmers and gardeners in Europe will no longer be able to spray the pesticides clothianidin, imidacloprid and thiametheoxam outdoors. The chemicals can still applied inside permanent greenhouses."Bee health remains of paramount importance for me since it concerns biodiversity, food production and the environment," Vytenis Andriukaitis, the EU commissioner for Health and Food Safety, said in a statement.An assessment published earlier this year by the European Food Safety Authority determined neonicotinoids pose a risk to wild bees and honey bees. T...