-
Source: NZPA / R Tucker -
Related
New Zealand environmental risk management experts say they may review research being done in Europe which suggests some insecticides can kill bees even when they are only used to treat seeds before planting.
Massive bee deaths in Germany after maize-sowing in the spring of 2008 have raised concerns in Europe over systemic neonicotinoid insecticides such as Clothianidin and Imidacloprid, which are registered in New Zealand.
Britain's Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Efra) has rejected calls to prohibit use of the neonicotinoid insecticides, but some have been withdrawn in France, Germany, Italy and Slovenia.
Beekeepers in Britain have argued there is now a mounting body of evidence that the insecticides damage the neurological and immune systems of honey bees.
But in New Zealand, Agriculture Minister David Carter on Tuesday rejected a Green Party call for a ban on pesticides that kill bees, saying it would be "totally impractical".
Carter on Tuesday night launched Bee Week at Parliament, a promotion to highlight the value of bees and honey to the economy, and to protect them.
Beekeepers' Association CEO Jim Edwards said local beekeepers were concerned about the reports from Europe, but had no evidence of damage being done in New Zealand.
There were also questions about where pesticides were contributing to the "colony collapse" problems being seen in the northern hemisphere.
Edwards said beekeepers were already urging orchardists and other horticulturists to take care with agricultural sprays that could hurt bees - that was a key focus of Bee Week, run with Horticulture New Zealand and Organics Aotearoa.
In Germany, the insecticides were approved for use there on the basis that bees would not be exposed to them if the seed coating was safely buried when the seeds were planted.
But thousands of bee colonies were killed by direct contact with Clothianidin or Imidacloprid dust which escaped from from the seeds during planting.
Research
And an Italian professor, Vincenzo Girolami of the University of Padova, has since separately shown neonicotinoids in maize can kill bees via through water droplets, despite the maize being wind- pollinated.
Environmental Risk Management Authority staff have contacted Professor Girolami,and asked to review his research when it is published.
An Erma spokeswoman said that if it finds evidence to indicate that any of the active ingredients in the neonicotinoid family of insecticides used as a seed treatment presents a more significant risk to bees than assumed, then its risks could be re-assessed.
But because Girolami's research would be new information, scientists would review it before deciding whether such pesticides should be re-assessed and what priority they should be given.
Insecticides in the neonicotinoid family registered in New Zealand include Clothianidin (2 registered products), Thiamethoxam (3), Imidacloprid (18), Nitenpyram (1), Thiacloprid (3).
