No ban on pesticides despite links to sharp declines in bees

 

Nerve-agent pesticides should not be banned in Britain despite four separate scientific studies strongly linking them to sharp declines in bees around the world, Government scientists have advised.

An internal review of recent research on neonicotinoids – pesticides that act on insects' central nervous systems and are increasingly blamed for problems with bee colonies – has concluded that no change is needed in British regulation.

The British position contrasts sharply with that of France, which in June banned one of the pesticides, thiamethoxam. French scientists said it was impairing the abilities of honeybees to find their way back to their nests. The Green MP Caroline Lucas described the British attitude as one of "astonishing complacency".

The French research was published in March in the journal Science at the same time as another study by British researchers from the University of Stirling, implicating neonicotinoids in the decline of bumblebees. In January, the US government's chief bee researcher published a study showing that imidacloprid makes honeybees more susceptible to disease, even at doses so low as to be barely detectable. And in April, a team from Harvard claimed that imidacloprid was the culprit in colony collapse disorder.

Independent Comment
blog comments powered by Disqus
News in pictures
World news in pictures
From the blogs

“I’m not going to do ANYTHING for you”

Time for the monthly treat from David Hayes, who writes about British politics for the Australian In...

Dish of the Day: Could new brews win over craft beer drinkers?

Cask ale brewers don’t come much bigger than Marston’s. In fact the brewery, which also owns thousan...

Nadine Dorries’s new business: an engineering consultancy that has become a media consultancy

Nadine Dorries talks freely about many things, but not whether she was paid to go on I'm a Cleberity...

Children’s Books: Recommended read – ‘A Monster Calls’ by Patrick Ness

Thirteen-year-old Conor awakes in bed one night to discover that the yew tree outside his house has ...

       
 
iJobs Job Widget
iJobs General

Senior Electrical Engineering Consultant – Renewable Energy Grid Connections.

Negotiable Depending on Experience: The Green Recruitment Company: The Green R...

BREEAM Consultant

£25000 - £30000 Per Annum: The Green Recruitment Company: The Green Recruitmen...

Design Engineer - ProE, Hand Calcs

Negotiable: Progressive Recruitment: Dear Sumadhab, A growing engineering comp...

Year 6 Teacher / Year Group Leader

Negotiable: Randstad Education Ilford: We are currently recruiting for a Year ...

Day In a Page

'To farm I have to rape the countryside. It’s got to be wrong': The true effect of the badger cull

The true effect of the badger cull

'To farm I have to rape the countryside. It’s got to be wrong'
Theatre review: Daniel Radcliffe gives an admirably honest performance in Michael Grandage's The Cripple of Inishmaan

First night: The Cripple of Inishmaan

Daniel Radcliffe gives an admirably honest performance in Michael Grandage's comedy
Girls Guides drop religious reference but pledge to self and the Queen

Guides drop religious reference but pledge to self and the Queen

After 103 years, organisation changes oath to welcome 'all girls, of all faiths, and none'
Steve Tongue: Joe Kinnear was one of the boys and a breath of fresh air... 21 years ago

Steve Tongue

Joe Kinnear was one of the boys and a breath of fresh air... 21 years ago
Chris Froome: Free from 'pain in neck' after Bradley Wiggins' exit

Chris Froome: Free from 'pain in neck' after Wiggins' exit

Sky's lead rider says he is in fantastic form for the Tour and happy pecking order debate is over
Hannah England: I've got the right times – now to focus on the chess

Hannah England: Keeping Track

I've got the right times – now to focus on the chess
Beards, brawn and body art

Beards, brawn and body art

Meet London’s new batch of male models
Scandi-geeks descend on Nordicana for fan-convention

Scandi-geeks descend on Nordicana for fan-convention

British love of shows such as The Bridge, Borgen and The Killing shows no sign of fading
Behind the rhetoric what is really being done to combat desertification?

The Great Green Wall of Africa,

Behind the rhetoric what is really being done to combat desertification?
Laughter Inc: the cheering growth of the chuckle industry

Laughter Inc

The cheering growth of the chuckle industry
The bad science scandal: how fact-fabrication is damaging UK's global name for research

The bad science scandal

How fact-fabrication is damaging UK's global name for research
To the manor born: The female aristocrats battling to inherit the title

Female aristocrats battle to inherit the title

A passionate protest is gathering pace among the women of Britain's aristocracy, who believe that men should no longer automatically inherit the family pile and title.
Love struck: Photographs of JFK's visit to Berlin 50 years ago reveal a nation instantly smitten

In pictures: JFK's visit to Berlin in 1963

Photographer Ulrich Mack accompanied Kennedy on the entire trip. The results are an astonishing record of a watershed moment.
Eat shoots and leaves: Mark Hix gets creative with fresh peas, mangetouts and sugar snaps

Mark Hix gets creative with English peas

English peas and their offsprings, such as mangetouts and sugar snaps, are great tossed into a salad, says our chef.
Ceviche with a smile: Chef Martin Morales has turned South America's elegant cuisine into one of London's hottest food trends

Chef Martin Morales: Ceviche with a smile

Morales has turned South America's elegant cuisine into one of London's hottest food trends