Neonicotinoids In Australia
Last year, I wrote about neonicotinoids in Australia, and the myth that Australia’s honeybees are having no problems caused by this group of pesticides.
I thought it was high time I updated my readers with other news that came out of Australia last year.
EFSA were not the only government agency investigating neonicotinoids – the Australian Environment Agency conducted their own review into the risks of this set of poisons to our bees.
In
a report:
"Consideration of Testing Requirements and Label Statements In Relation to the Impact of Pesticides on the Health of Honey Bees and other Insect Pollinators"
they set out the areas of investigation:
- a)
to see whether the use of neonicotinoid
insecticides (clothianidin, imidacloprid, thiamethoxam) in Australia is
presenting any more of a risk to the health of honeybees than other pesticides
which have been in use for many years,
and - b) whether the current APVMA data requirements for testing of insecticides are adequate to address scientific concerns about subtle effects of neonicotinoids (and other pesticides) on honey bees which have been suggested as impacting their ability to pollinate plants and collect honey.
If you have no time to read the report, you may at least like to look at the conclusion, from which I have copied and pasted a comment here:
“The current APVMA data requirements for testing of insecticides are not adequate to properly consider possible routes and extent of exposure of insect pollinators to pesticides or to assess the potential for adverse effects (including sub-lethal effects) of pesticides (including neonicotinoid pesticides) on honey bees and other insect pollinators”.
This is in line with the EFSA conclusions of last year.
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lawn for bees
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