The story started gaining traction even earlier in June 2013 when Schuit lost what was the equivalent to 600 beehives. For someone such as Schuit, this hit close to home. It’s his livelihood being attacked by who he believes to be Bayer CropScience Inc.’s toxic class of insecticides, neonicotinoids (or neonics).
Some farmers believe that the mass bee deaths can be traced back to the use of new air seeders. When seeds coated with neonicotinoids are planted in mass quantities, pesticide dust flies freely through the air and can spread beyond the crop (e.g., corn) being planted.
At the time, in a petition to ban neonicotinoid pesticides throughout the entire province, the Ontario Beekeeper’s association reported a 35 percent decline in honey bees over two years. Given that it’s more challenging to control the weather, it seems logical to reduce or eliminate the use of toxic, damaging chemicals – a man-made factor we can control.
Every single continent has experienced Colony Collapse Disorder in which bees abandon their hives or simply die off. However, the United States has experience pollinator decline more drastically since 2006. Heavy use of neonicotinoids, as a result, continues to pose potentially fatal risks to bee species.
Bees are exposed to neonics during the pollination process. Think of it like a sick child going to school… You can bet that after a full day of school in the same classroom with a sick child, your son or daughter will likely come home with sniffles of their own. Similarly, bees who ingest contaminated pollen can potentially pass it on to entire hives.
In addition to killing species, neonicotinoid exposure can also disrupt bees’ development as well as their abilities to communicate and behave. To make matters worse, studies have shown that neonicotinoids can exist within plant tissues and soil for more than one year, which only increases pollinators’ risk of exposure.
Purdue University also found that “bees exhibited neurotoxic symptoms [and] analysis of dead bees revealed traces of thiamethoxam/clothianidin in each case,” after studying the death of millions of pollinators.
“Why is Monsanto to keep selling Pesticide-Coated Seeds although the EPA says they don’t help yields and, may harm bees? Where’s precaution?” – Jeremy W.
In response to this valid question, Monsanto claims that when seed treatment procedures are properly used, they’re both effective and pose no threat to pollinators such as honey bees… Clearly, though, we just highlighted several risks above. Assuming those are all cases where procedures are being followed, then something needs to change.