Catch the buzz article

LocustHoney · July 04, 2008, 04:00:04 PM

Does anyone have the catch the buzz e-mail article that talks about the corn seeds being dipped in insecticide??? It was just approved by the US Govt for Monsanto, Bayer, and one other corporation. I need this article if anyone has it???

eri · July 04, 2008, 05:02:59 PM

http://www.moraybeekeepers.co.uk/N&Views/sierra.htm

greg spike · July 07, 2008, 01:07:48 PM

I never have been one to trust Monsantos, but I fail to see how dipping a corn kernal in insecticied vectors out to bees. Saturating a cornfield when its tasseling, yeah, that'll get em; but seed? Is there something I'm not getting?

We do need much greater scrutiny of the industrial-agarcultual complex, I'll agree with that.

Vetch · July 07, 2008, 01:14:16 PM

The neonicotinoids are very strong, long lasting poisons that are absorbed into plant and act systemically. Seed treatment can lead to pollen and nectar that contain enough poison to affect bees.

Bee-Bop · July 07, 2008, 02:03:47 PM

Folks I believe seed corn has been dipped in chemicals for years !

Check with a corn farmer, the seed is coated with a red insecticide.

Look at your corn seed packet it probably has something link "do not eat"

Any body remember back a number of years when UNICEF distributed tons of seed corn to be planted, instead the "natives" ate the seed and a number died !

Go ahead spend some time, check the inter-net you will probably be able to verify this, or contact one of the seed corn co.s

Bee-Bop

greg spike · July 07, 2008, 03:42:45 PM

Yeah, i guess your right. I found an Italian study which linked seeds which were treated with nicotine based pesticides with higher amounts of the same in pollen and nectar. France has already banned some types.

Vetch · July 07, 2008, 03:45:53 PM

QuoteFolks I believe seed corn has been dipped in chemicals for years !

Yes, seed corn is commonly red, which is dye added to tell people that the seed has been treated with chemicals and should not be eaten. But the new class of synthetic nicotine pesticides that the big companies are planning on selling are much stronger than nicotine, and they last for months. Bees are much more sensitive to these than people.

This study found that a dose of 0.1 microgram can interfere with a bee's ability to learn, or can stimulate their metabolism.

QuoteArch Environ Contam Toxicol. 2008 May;54(4):653-61. Epub 2007 Nov 17.
Effects of sublethal doses of acetamiprid and thiamethoxam on the behavior of the honeybee (Apis mellifera).

Acetamiprid and thiamethoxam are insecticides introduced for pest control, but they can also affect non-target insects such as honeybees. In insects, these neonicotinoid insecticides are known to act on acetylcholine nicotinic receptors but the behavioral effects of low doses are not yet fully understood. The effects of acetamiprid and thiamethoxam were studied after acute sublethal treatment on the behavior of the honeybee (Apis mellifera) under controlled laboratory conditions. The drugs were either administered orally or applied topically on the thorax. After oral consumption acetamiprid increased sensitivity to antennal stimulation by sucrose solutions at doses of 1 microg/bee and impaired long-term retention of olfactory learning at the dose of 0.1 microg/bee. Acetamiprid thoracic application induced no effect in these behavioral assays but increased locomotor activity (0.1 and 0.5 microg/bee) and water-induced proboscis extension reflex (0.1, 0.5, and 1 microg/bee). Unlike acetamiprid, thiamethoxam had no effect on bees' behavior under the conditions used. Our results suggest a particular vulnerability of honeybee behavior to sublethal doses of acetamiprid.

tlynn · July 08, 2008, 10:23:12 PM

I just don't get it. It's absolutely clear to me that CCD is a direct result of these new pesticides. They have been proven to be taken up in pollen. I read in the media how it's such a mystery, like space aliens are abducting whole hives of bees. The timing of CCD correlates well with the widespread use of these pesticides. And even on the wild outside chance they are not hurting bees, I just can't figure out how to get pesticides out of an orange if it's in all their cells, so this stuff is no good for us...I'm sticking to organic.

When I sit there and watch my bees comping and going, I'm just blown away over all that's going on inside their little noggins to be able to travel miles in a day, remembering multiple nectar locations and when the best time is to visit them, and they still find their way back to that very spot in my yard, and how if they were exposed to something that was toxic to their neurological system, it wouldn't take a very large amount to really throw their delicate system completely out of whack.