Bees and Chemicals
A possible cause of Colony Collapse Disorder has been identified, and it’s Bayer.
From Salon, I’ve quoted the damning parts, but there is more than just this, so read the whole thing.
Beekeepers have singled out imidacloprid and its chemical cousin clothianidin, also produced by Bayer CropScience, as a cause of bee die-offs around the world for over a decade…. due to a disclosure in December 2007 by Bayer CropScience itself. Bayer scientists found imidacloprid in the nectar and pollen of flowering trees and shrubs at concentrations high enough to kill a honeybee in minutes….
Imidacloprid and clothianidin are chloronicotinoids, a synthetic compound that combines nicotine, a powerful toxin, with chlorine to attack an insect’s nervous system. The chemical is applied to the seed of a plant, added to soil, or sprayed on a crop and spreads to every corner of the plant’s tissue, killing the pests that feed on it….
Today the EPA’s own literature calls it “very highly toxic” to honeybees and other beneficial insects….
So is this what you’ve been using? It’s in Bayer Tree and Shrub products. Interestingly, they have a major research facility here in Berkeley just a few blocks from our home. What giant chemical company implicated in the die-off of bees do you have near your home?
