Ornamental plants – with a high concentration of different flowers – are an important source of nutrients for pollen. In fact, University of California (UC), Riverside Intomologists James Sekala and Erin E. Wilson Rankin counted more than 150 species of wild bees in nurseries in California alone.
However, little research has been done on how pesticides, often used in herbicides, affect these vital insects.
Therefore, Sekala and Rankin experimented with the effect of the common use of neonotinoids on ornamental plants on the alpha leaf beetle alone (Megachile rotundata). The answer? too many.
The pesticide is only 30 percent of the recommended dose and still reduces beekeeping by 90 percent.
“We need to be careful about how we manage these plants,” Sekala told Eco Wat by email.
Pest management
The study, published last month in the Royal Society B process, is designed to determine how different types of nesting practices can help or harm bees. In particular, Sekala and Rankin wanted to know if the plants’ water intake would make a difference.
“In general, we do not know much about the impact of plant practices on agriculture, especially on beekeeping,” said Sekala. “To fully understand the effects of neonicotinoids on pollen, one must know whether the plants are affected by these chemicals.”
According to a press release by UCC Riverside, Secala believes that watering the plants further reduces the effect of pesticides on bees. To test this, he and Rankin introduced beeswax, which is treated with 30 percent of common nicotininoid and non-nicotine plants. In each category, some plants drank more, and some less. They used a special pesticide called neonicotinoid imidaclopid, which was sold as a marathon sold. This is a pesticide designed for use in nursery and greenhouses that have been on the market since 1994.
What they found was amazing, Sekala told UC Riverside. Although more water-treated pesticides have little imdaclopre in their beekeeping, they are also harmful to beekeeping and breeding as they are watered with pesticides.
The study, conducted in a laboratory-controlled area, said Sekala pesticide chemicals were also harming bees outside the laboratory.
»[W]E) Only 30% of the required pesticide application can be found to be detrimental to bee reproduction: Applicant adheres to the recommended dosage. Soon there is reason to believe that we will see similar effects on bees in “the real world.”
One second Quiet spring
The results of the study are not surprising to Daniel Rickel, director of polio initiation at the National Rural Conservation Council (NRDC). Instead, they add to the growing body of evidence that neonicotinoids are extremely harmful to bees and other animals.
According to Reich, these pesticides are problematic for two main reasons. At first, they told EcoWatch that they were “accidentally toxic.” According to one study, between 1992 and 2014, agriculture in the United States was 48 times more toxic, largely due to the use of nicotininoids.
“A neonic treated corn may be active enough to kill a quarter of a million bees or more, and one square foot of neonic treatment grass may be enough to kill one million bees, according to EPA. They said.
Another problem is that neonotinoids are designed to be absorbed into every part of the plant to make it “pest-free,” according to Recle. This means that they are also easily caught in the environment, spreading in the soil and contaminating wild plants and bodies of water.
According to a growing body of research, this spread has negative effects on both insects and edible animals. They slow down the migration of word birds, destroy fishing and cause birth defects in white-tailed deer.
“Neonics is very popular all over the country and is used in the same places year after year, building in soil and expanding, diving into the water, entering the ecosystem, entering the food, the situation seems to be the second. Quiet spring, ”Quoting Rachel Carson’s book on DDT Disasters.
The importance of native bees
While the study may not be surprising, it is important in part because the study of nicotininoidine may help to expand honey bees into solitary, native bees.
Guillermo Fernandez, founder and CEO of Bee Conservancy, told EcoWatch:
According to Rachel, indigenous bees are “extremely important” when it comes to wild plants and crops. But they are in grave danger. About 25 percent of the 4,000 bees in the United States are endangered. And the study confirms that pesticides are a major threat.
Biologically diverse scientist Jess Tyler said: “A single bee represents a huge number of bees and the impact of this study on loneliness is very worrying,” said EcoWach in an email. “Single species are more vulnerable to pest infestation because each female bee is responsible for its own nest and if it is killed, its genetic heritage is lost.”
Fortunately, the new research also points to solutions. Both Sekala, Raikel and Tyler called for improved pesticide identification.
“I would like to see a clearer picture of the dangers of these insects to bees, especially to bees,” Sekala said. “The label says it is ‘very toxic’ to bees (although not on the first page), but only warns users not to apply it if bees are currently eating. Our results warn that bees are very vulnerable to bees. Even if the plant does not grow.
Both Reich and Tyler noticed that the current account sizes are clearly too high. Tyler went on to urge the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to look for protection zones for pollen and avoid high-risk methods of spraying chemicals.
“In the absence of antimicrobial agents, pesticides should be discontinued,” he said.
Richeel also advocated for the banning of nicotinic acid in areas where it is not really needed. For example, NRDC is currently introducing bird and bees protection laws in New York, which prohibits the sale and use of nicotininoid-coated seeds.
There are other things gardeners can do to protect native pollen.
“Although the pesticide we tested in our study was intended for kindergartens and greenhouses, the same active ingredient (imidaclopred) is common in many products for use in residential gardens and lawns,” Sekala said. If you are a home gardener about “saving bees,” I recommend that you check closely any chemical product labels you find in the store and refrain from using neonotinoids completely.
Rachel also advises that day care clients can put pressure on these organizations to protect bees.
“Every time homeowners ask for plants to be chemically free, they see markets moving in that direction,” he said.
The problem may extend beyond kindergarten to other non-agricultural green areas, such as golf courses, and Fernandez, as well as concerned users, may be affected.
He also said that home gardeners can do more to make their gardens more suitable for bees than to avoid pesticides. Suggestions include:
- Plant native flowers.
- Planting “Bee Baths” – Deep dishes filled with water and bee stumps.
- Since 70 percent of the bees live in the ground, do not disturb any part of the yard.
Some native bees have only a few hundred feet, which means that your yard may be their “whole world.”
“We can really make a difference,” he said.
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