From The Guardian UK: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/may/02/us-bee-report-pesticide-eu
Government study points to a combination of factors for decline in population, breaking away from singling out pesticides
Suzanne Goldenberg, US environment correspondent
guardian.co.uk, Thursday 2 May 2013
A government report blamed a combination of factors for the disappearance of America’s honeybees on Thursday and did not join Europe in singling out pesticides as a prime suspect.
The report, by the Department of Agriculture and the Environmental Protection Agency, blamed a parasitic mite, viruses, bacteria, poor nutritions and genetics as well as pesticides for the rapid decline of honey bees since 2006.
Researchers said it was not clear whether a certain class of pesticides was a major cause of the colony collapse.
Environmental groups described the lapse as a missed opportunity to respond swiftly to a situation that has decimated the country’s bee population.
The European Union voted this week for a two-year ban on a class of pesticides, known as neonicotinoids, that has been associated with the bees’ collapse.
The US government report, in contrast, found multiple causes for the collapse of the honeybees.
“The decline in honeybee health is a complex problem caused by a combination of stressors,” EPA’s acting administrator Bob Perciasepe said.
But the report singled out as the main culprit a parasitic mite known as Varroa destructor as “the single most detrimental pest of honeybees”.
Researchers ranked pesticides at the bottom of the list of potential causes, saying there is no clear evidence pesticides were the leading cause of colony collapse.
“It is not clear, based on current research, whether pesticide exposure is a major factor associated with US honeybee health declines in general, or specifically affects production of honey or delivery of pollination services,” the report said.
Continue reading at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/may/02/us-bee-report-pesticide-eu
