pesticide threatens colony study
Last Updated : GMT 09:40:38
Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle
Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle
Last Updated : GMT 09:40:38
Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle

sub: By attacking queen bumblebee

pesticide threatens colony: study

Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle

Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchroniclepesticide threatens colony: study

Scientists are still trying to pinpoint how the insecticide affects bees
Paris - Muslimchronicle

A common pesticide used on crops compromises a queen bumblebee's ability to lay eggs, threatening her colony with extinction, according to a study released Monday.

Lab experiments used doses of thiamethoxam -- one of the controversial neonicotinoid family -- that corresponded to what a queen bee might encounter in the wild.

Exposure to the chemical shifted the timing of colony formation and reduced the number of eggs by more than quarter, the researchers said.

"This showed that the impacts of neonicotinoids on colony founding -- by itself -- significantly increases the risk of an exposed bumblebee population going extinct," Mark Brown, a professor at the University of London and co-author of the study, told AFP.

The chance of colony collapse is at least 28 percent, he said.

Neonicotinoid pesticides are widely used in agriculture, but recent studies have suggested a strong link with declining bee populations, especially over the last decade.

As a result, in 2013 the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) imposed a partial, temporary moratorium on their use, pending the result of a review scheduled for completion later this year.

But scientists are still trying to pinpoint how the insecticide affects bees, which are crucial for the pollination of crops ranging from almonds and apples to peaches and plums.

The new findings, published in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution, highlight a plausible scenario.

"Previous studies have ignored a key aspect of the bumblebee life-cycle, which is the colony founding stage," Brown said.

"As successful colony founding is key to the size of bumblebee populations, and bumblebee queens feed on crops and plants that can be contaminated by neonicotinoids, this life-cycle stage could be key in understanding the impacts of neonicotinoids."

Bumblebee queens already face a multiple hurdles in starting a new colony.

If they manage to survive the winter -- during which that can shed 80 percent of their fat reserves -- they must still confront parasites, predators, bad weather and a lack of food.

Coping with insecticides may be a threat too many, the researchers said.

"These pesticides can have a devastating effect on bees, and we urgently need to know more about how pesticides could be affecting other species," said co-author Nigel Raine from the University of Guelph in Canada.

A global review last November concluded that some 1.4 billion jobs and three-quarters of all crops depend on pollinators, mainly bees.

There are some 20,000 species of bees responsible for fertilising more than 90 percent of the world's 107 major crops.

Last year, the United Nations said 40 percent of invertebrate pollinators -- particularly bees and butterflies -- risk global extinction.

So-called "colony collapse disorder" has been blamed on mites, a virus or fungus, pesticides, or a combination of factors.

Neonicotinoids -- lab-synthesised pesticides based on the chemical structure of nicotine -- appeared also to be linked to declines of butterflies, birds and aquatic insects.

Widely used to treat flowering crops, they are designed to be absorbed by the growing plant and attack the nervous system of insect pests.

source: AFP

themuslimchronicle
themuslimchronicle

GMT 08:14 2018 Sunday ,14 January

Fossil fuels blown away by wind

GMT 08:56 2018 Tuesday ,09 January

Bacteria makes blue jeans green

GMT 10:03 2017 Friday ,15 December

US void hard to miss at Paris climate summit

GMT 09:39 2017 Thursday ,14 December

Investors turn against fossil fuels

GMT 09:44 2017 Tuesday ,12 December

The greening of international finance
Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle
Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle

Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

pesticide threatens colony study pesticide threatens colony study

 



Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle

GMT 12:04 2017 Wednesday ,27 September

Thomas Cook sees tourists return to Turkey and Egypt

GMT 20:15 2017 Friday ,17 March

Attack On Aid Convoy in South Sudan Kills Two

GMT 17:32 2017 Friday ,15 September

At least 33 dead in Nigeria boat capsize

GMT 17:23 2013 Friday ,24 May

Woolwich: Terrorism or political murder?

GMT 17:52 2017 Tuesday ,18 April

Meningitis kills 10 more people in NW Nigeria

GMT 18:08 2017 Tuesday ,17 October

Norway solar firm signs 2.5 bn-euro deal with Iran

GMT 07:43 2018 Monday ,22 January

Macron boosts Merkel ahead of key coalition vote

GMT 05:32 2016 Monday ,18 April

Australian dollar falls amid oil talk breakdown

GMT 04:45 2016 Thursday ,15 December

UAE Ambassador and Chilean Energy Minister discuss

GMT 15:34 2011 Saturday ,19 November

Williams to resume sibling rivalry in exhibition

GMT 13:03 2017 Tuesday ,14 March

Snoop Dogg shoots at Trump in new video

GMT 09:37 2016 Monday ,19 September

Southeast Asian haze crisis killed over 100,000

GMT 08:27 2015 Monday ,19 October

Patriots down Colts in 'Deflategate' rematch

GMT 16:36 2017 Tuesday ,12 September

Quarter of houses in Florida Keys destroyed

GMT 21:22 2016 Thursday ,23 June

Poll: Israelis even on Clinton vs. Trump
Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle
Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle
 
 Themuslimchronicle Facebook,themuslimchronicle facebook  Themuslimchronicle Twitter,themuslimchronicle twitter Themuslimchronicle Rss,themuslimchronicle rss  Themuslimchronicle Youtube,themuslimchronicle youtube  Themuslimchronicle Youtube,themuslimchronicle youtube

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2023 ©

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2023 ©

muslimchronicle muslimchronicle muslimchronicle muslimchronicle
themuslimchronicle themuslimchronicle themuslimchronicle
themuslimchronicle
بناية النخيل - رأس النبع _ خلف السفارة الفرنسية _بيروت - لبنان
themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle