BBC News website reports on a proposal from the EU on neonicotinoid insecticides with the European Commissioner for health and consumer policy Tonio Borg saying it was time for “swift and decisive action.”  Read the story here.

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), an independent body, released its report into the effects of neonicotinoid pesticides on bee health on Wednesday (16 January).

The report concluded that:

• Exposure from pollen and nectar. Only uses on crops not attractive to honey bees were considered acceptable.
• Exposure from dust. A risk to honeybees was indicated or could not be excluded, with some exceptions, such as use on sugarbeet and crops planted in glasshouses, and for the use of some granules.
• Exposure from guttation. The only risk assessment that could be completed was for maize treated with thiamethoxam. In this case, field studies show an acute effect on honeybees exposed to the substance through guttation fluid.

Read press release on EFSA website.

A separate report released earlier this week warned that up to £630m could be lost from the UK economy each year if neonicotinoids are withdrawn.

The study, independently commissioned by EU’s Humboldt Forum for Food and Agriculture (HFFA) was financed by Syngenta and Bayer CropScience,

About 30 per cent of British cropland – 3.14 million acres – was being treated with neonicotinoid chemicals in 2010.

Reports published in the journal Science on March 29th from British and French scientists, and extensively reported in the UK press today, confirm that both honey bees and bumble bees are seriously harmed by exposure to neonicotinoid insecticides, even by tiny doses not sufficient to kill them outright.

The British study led by Stirling’s Professor David Goulson looked at the impact on  bumble bees and found that queen production was 85% lower in bees exposed to when exposed to “field-realistic levels” of imidacloprid than control nests not exposed to the chemical.

Mikaël Henry from France’s National Institute for Agronomic Research in Avignon led a study of honey bees exposed to another neonicotinoid product, thiamethoxam. The study found that at sub-lethal doses, “Non-lethal exposure… causes high mortality due to homing failure, at levels that could put a colony at risk of collapse,” by seriously affecting the bees’ homing abilities to the extent that they proved to be two to three times more likely to die while away from their nests than unexposed bees.

The Environment Secretary, Caroline Spelman, will have to answer a question in the Commons from the former Home Office minister David Hanson about whether the Government will investigate if the effect of neonicotinoids on the grooming behaviour of bees is similar to its effect on termites.  Full report in the Independent

Martin Caton, MP for The Gower is the Primary Sponsor for the Early Day Motion 1267 IMPACT OF NEONICOTINOID PESTICIDES ON BEES AND OTHER INVERTEBRATES 13.01.2011.  I emailed Stephen Crabb MP about this asking for his support for this.

I am pleased to share his reponse which read:

“Dear John,

Thank you for your email of 22nd January regarding neonicotinoid pesticides. I very much share your concern about the decline of pollinators in the UK. As someone who lives next door to one of Pembrokeshire’s largest honey producers, I am a strong supporter of the honeybee and I have already written to Lord Henley, Parliamentary Under Secretary at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural affairs, about neonicotinoid pesticides.

I have also discussed this issue with colleagues in the House of Commons. I have been informed that Ministers are aware of concerns about this matter. My colleagues have been seeking scientific advice, including views of the independent Advisory Committee on Pesticides, on the Buglife report ‘The impact of neonicotinoid insecticides on bumblebees, honeybees and other non-target invertebrates (2009)’ issued last year. This report highlighted the need for data on the impact of pesticides on overwintering of bees. This is an area where regulatory science is continuing to develop and the problem is being addressed by changes to the EU regulatory system. On the basis of current evidence there is no justification for altering data requirements in the UK in advance of these changes.

In the UK the pesticides regulatory body, the Health and Safety Executive’s Chemicals Regulation Directorate (CRD), has also been in discussions with other EU regulatory authorities who have chosen to impose restrictions on the use of neonicotinoid pesticides. At a recent meeting, no new scientific evidence was presented to suggest a need for changes to current UK pesticide authorisations at the present time. That said, CRD would act on any substantive evidence should incidents occur in the UK and will continue to monitor research and developments in other EU member states.

As you may be aware, I was recently appointed to the Coalition Government. As a Government Minister, I am not able to add my name to Early Day Motions (EDMs) as the purpose of an EDM is to call on the Government to take action.

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you would like any further information on this matter. I would also like to congratulate you and the Pembrokeshire Beekeepers’ Association for all the important work you do to support and encourage beekeeping in Pembrokeshire.

Kind regards,

Stephen

Stephen Crabb MP
House of Commons
London
SW1A 0AA”