Bees for Development Journal
RECENT RESEARCH
bacteria Actinomycetes. It is used in over 30 countries including North America, Canada and the UK to combat common crop pests such as caterpillars and thrips. Bee colonies were fed the pesticide in a manner that mimicked contact in an agricultural setting. Adult bees and developing larva were exposed to Spinosad in pollen. The bees' foraging ability on an array of ‘complex’ artificial flowers made of centrifuge tubes was then evaluated. High levels of Spinosad residues (about 10 times what bees should experience in the environment) caused rapid colony death. Colonies exposed to more realistic levels of Spinosad in pollen did not show any lethal effects and only minimal immediate colony health effects. However, bees that were fed realistic levels of Spinosad during larval development were slower foragers. They took longer to access complex flowers, resulting in longer handling times and lower foraging rates. The bees also displayed ‘trembling’, which impaired their ability to land on the flowers and enter the flower tubes. This impaired foraging ability in bumblebees could result in weaker colonies and lower pollination of crop plants, according to Dr Morandin: "Adult bees that have been exposed to a pesticide during larval development may display symptoms of poisoning that are not detected with current tests required by
regulatory agencies," she says. “In order to ensure sustainable food production, agricultural pesticides need to be safe for wild pollinators." The authors conclude that testing of new pesticides should include examination of lethal and sub-lethal effects on wild bees. "Testing new pesticides on some species of wild bees will aid in developing pesticides and use recommendations that minimise impact on wild bees, leading to healthier populations of bees and potentially better crop yields," says Morandin.
SCI Press Office See Bookshelf page 14 for the review of a new field guide for bumblebees
Copyright As part of Bees for Development's Information Service you are welcome to translate and/or reproduce items appearing in our Journal. Permission is given on the understanding that BfDJ and author(s) are acknowledged, our contact details are provided in full, and you send us a copy of the item, or the website address where it is used. All items remain Bees for Development.
Do your bees
Alarm Report
make propolis?
The ALARM Project is carrying out a large-scale assessment of environmental risks across Europe. Particular attention is being given to the loss of pollinators and the pollination services they provide. Bees (and to a lesser extent other insects) provide key services in maintaining biodiversity and contribute to agricultural production. After one year of research, methods testing is complete and the aim is to publish a series of papers in 2006. The focus this year is on the risks of pollinator loss for crops and rare wildflowers.
We invite you to join the expanding network of researchers, curators and data managers who share an interest in pollinators. Examining the data available for Europe, we will be able to identify concerns of greatest priority - taxonomy and conservation - and support future initiatives with fact-based evidence.
75
Wa
fi
~™
by
www.beevitalpropolis.com We would like to test
Contributions including data research collaborations and joint publications are always welcome. Simon Potts, ALARM Project, University of Reading, UK
it from
it
and possibly buy
you.
James Fearnley of BeeVital is a leading world authority on the nature of propolis & its medicina! properties, he is author of Bee Propolis-Natural Healing from the Hive retailing at 7.99 plus p&p. A major research project has been
The
Assessing LA rge-scale environmental Risks for biodiversity with tested M ethods (ALARM) project is an EU-funded project that began in February 2004 and is scheduled to run until January 2009. For readers interested in its progress there are
regular
updates on www.alarmproject.net
started by BeeVital and we would like your help. If you are interested in finding out whether your propolis is suitable for medicinal use and learning about sustainable ways of harvesting & using propolis please send a sample (50g) to:
BeeVital, Brereton Lodge, Goathland, Whitby, North Yorkshire
YO22 5JR, UK Tel: ++44 (0) 1947 896037
Fax: ++44 (0) 1947 896482 Email: info@beevitalpropolis.com
