honey bees

[shavey]

great link:thumbup: its one of those things that you take for granted

[Gardenmac]

oops sorry for the double post, maybe the constant local spraying of neonicotinoids are taking effect, nah it must be the wine:001_tt2:

[Peasgood]

As far as I know, neonicotinoids are used as seed dressings rather than actual sprays, so farmers do not constantly spray them.

This "ban" doesn't come into effect until the end of this year (to allow stocks to be used up as is normal) so don't expect any rapid changes.

 

I'm a farmer but I don't use these chemicals, mostly because I don't grow rape.

I do grow apples and did suffer a poor crop last year, not through lack of bees but through lack of decent weather for pollination to take place. In fact I just don't see honey bees in my orchards, never have done. If honey bees were wiped out completely it would make zero difference to my apple crop.

That doesn't mean I don't care about them, I very much do. Nor does it mean I have killed them all with my constant spraying every day. As it happens I have a thriving colony of solitary bees throughout my orchards (yes I know that is contradictory). Apparently they are pretty rare, well not here they're not!

 

Some folk say I shouldn't be using any insecticides, well which ones of you would be happy to buy apples with maggots in them? I wouldn't, and nor does anyone else. I don't use chemicals for fun, they cost an awful lot of money. If I could put even one less spray on I would.

Another thing that is contrary to popular belief is that I, along with many others do everything we can to look after the "wildlife" as in beneficial bugs including bees. I have changed my fungicide regime to be as insect friendly as possible. All sorts of reasons behind this but admittedly the main one is so the beneficial insects eat the baddies for me.

By changing things to be as "friendly" as possible I no longer have to apply insecticides for rust mite, the "goodies" I am looking after eat them for me. I think that's pretty damned cool myself!

I can tell you it was a very brave step when asked "what will you apply to control rust mite this year" and I replied "nothing". £50k mistake if I was wrong!

[mdt]

If local farmers can plough through the night then why can't they spray at night too? Bees don't fly at night and it would give them a safer chance of foraging in a spray free environment.

Banning the neonicotinoids may not be as good as we think as it means the farmers will revert back to other more harmful pesticides.

 

Farmers can spray at night but chances are it will be a residual ie soil contact. Majority of the sprays need to go onto a dry surface well, if have a dew on a night it wont help matters it could possibly be a waste! We farmers dont just like spraying cause it means sitting on our backsides we do it to protect the investment that has been put into the crop! Regarding the ban defra doent fully support the ban because it was done in a extreme way, the idiots who did the testing and experiments etc did it with the chemical in question at 26 times the level we are currently using!!! Hardly a fair experiment and comparision is it!!! Now mother nature will likely suffer because we have to use a chemical like dursban which in the example of rape wont kill just the flea beetle which is what the seed dressing controls but all the other insects and living things in the seedbed.

[Marc Lewis]

We have also lost 99% of our butterflys since Victorian times.

[aquatoo]

Mankind! The worst pestilence the planet has ever seen.

[renewablejohn]

Lost one of my three hives over the winter. (Believe it was a badger tipping over hive) Would have lost more due to lack of food if it was not for Himalayan Balsam which has now taken over the valley bottom. Local conservation group now want to eradicate the Himalayan Balsam by spraying.

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

you think thats bad, monnsato recently bought a bee research group, and now plan to produce a genetically modified bee resistant to roundup.

 

Its all getting a little out of hand

[Peasgood]

Are bees not resistant to Roundup anyway?

It's a herbicide not an insecticide but I guess you knew that.

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

Are bees not resistant to Roundup anyway?

It's a herbicide not an insecticide but I guess you knew that.

 

 

only quoting the headlines, not that you can trust headlines,