Bee-harming pesticides banned in Europe.
Amazingly enough, our government voted on the side of the multinational chemical corporations rather than on the side of it's own electorate who (according to polls) were in favour the ban to be implemented and it's own environmental advisory committee, which accused the cabinet of "extra-ordinary complacency". And they lost. Ha.

Bees in decline

Over the past 10 to 15 years, beekeepers have been reporting unusual weakening of bee numbers and colony losses, particularly in Western European countries including France, Belgium, Switzerland, Germany, the UK, the Netherlands, Italy and Spain. In North America, colony losses observed since 2005 have left the region with fewer kept bees than at any time in the past 50 years. American scientists have coined the term Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) to describe this phenomenon. CCD is often characterised by the rapid loss from a colony of its adult worker bee population.No single cause of declining bee numbers has been identified. However, several contributing factors have been suggested, acting in combination or separately. These include the effects of intensive agriculture and pesticide use, starvation and poor bee nutrition, viruses, attacks by pathogens and invasive species – such as the Varroa mite (Varroa destructor), the Asian hornet (Vespa velutina), the small hive beetle Aethina tumida and the bee mite Tropilaelaps – genetically modified plants, and environmental changes (e.g. habitat fragmentation and loss).

Overall, before drawing definite conclusions on the behavioural effects regarding sub-lethal exposure of foragers exposed to actual doses of neonicotinoids it would be necessary to repeat the experiments performed in the studies with other exposure levels or in other situations.

So the actual reports from EFSA doesn't quite marry up to what has been said they were saying.

There are competing theories about bee decline but the arguments for keeping the pesticides are flimsier than the arguments for getting rid of them. The complaint that it will reduce crop yields hasn't held in the countries that have already imposed a unilateral ban. Plus the precautionary principle applies - it's not that we can't prove they're harmful, it's that we can't prove that they're not.

As it is, we'll have proof in a few years - if bee numbers recover then the ban was correct. if they don't, then all we've done is spray around a few less nasty chemicals for a few years which will be, you know, terrible. I'm reminded of the cartoon where a scientist says "But if manmade CO2 isn't the cause of climate change, we'll have improved the world for nothing!"

According to the British Bee-Keeping Association the problem is much more complicated than a simple ban on Nicotinoids. There is some debate over whether these type of pesticides kill bees, there isn't enough evidence either way. They certainly cause nerve damage and respiratory issues, but the biggest complication is that there is nothing new and alternative in the pesticide world that farmers can use, the only thing farmers can do with the ban in effect is fall-back on old pesticides which they already KNOW kill bees in large numbers.

The decline in bee numbers is based on such a delicate and sensitive balance of so many things, reactive judgements like banning a thing without the underlying research isn't going to make any difference at all and may just make the problem worse.

My concerns are that farmers will now use even more of the other pesticides to replace the now banned pesticides.

I think they will have to. We've got too used to having reasonable quality and cheap food through developments in crop yield which is based on the "new" pesticide technology. Yield will go down, prices will go up and the bees will still die.

Yields will be down this year anyway because of the weather. I’m noticing that far from being wholly yellow, the oil seed rape fields around here are patchy. Good news for me, but not so good for the farmers.

The weather may be a bigger factor than the pests. Food probably has to go up in priced to sustain farming and be more environmentally beneficial. Organic farmers can cope.

The weather was a massive contra-indicator for bee populations as well, last year particularly, Organic farmers will do better, but they are generally lower yield and tbh if they rely on bees for pollination they may struggle as well, unless they are also bee-keepers!

Yes the lower yields of organic farmers are accounted for in the price, but sometimes I think that the supermarkets are adding a much bigger margin for organic food as well. Though people are no longer really used to seasonal fruit and veg and can eat salads all year round. These things mask any local problems.