Larry Piatscheck Asked Why Bees Are in Grave Danger

Larry Piatscheck said that it looks like bees need more than a helping hand against neurotoxins.

The jury is on the fence till the European Union start implementing their ban on neonicotinoids.

That is a much needed step in the right direction and will go a long way in preventing bee loss on

a large scale, according to the scientific research on how the hive and the individuals are

affected. The Food Standards Agency was the latest to pitch in. After reviewing the scientific

literature, they pronounced that neonicotinoids present an unacceptable risk. A lot of the

countries in the European Union have violently fought to prevent a ban. Although 8 out of the 23

countries are against ban, the majority of them seem to agree that a ban of some kind is long

overdue.

Where are we right now?

As more and more bee populations search along the European hedgerows for flowers or a nest

site (as is the case with the bumblebee), the intensive farm comes into sharp focus. The Bombus

species of the Northern Hemisphere might be needed if the disease continues to keep killing off

the domestic Apis mellifera. We are already beginning to see cases of parasitism and bee-disease

in pandemics that resemble the medieval outbreak of the bubonic plague. Resistance is

practically futile for the bees. Disease and nectar loss are the biggest problems they are facing.

However, neonicotinoids are allowed during the winter season. Larry Piatscheck believes that

areas that have winter wheat and other winter crops will still have tiny leftover concentrations of

the chemicals which will cause neurological problems for the bees. These chemicals, just like the

organophosphate and organochlorine insecticides, tend to linger in the soil for a long time. This

also means that there will be little improvement in the health of the bees after a two year ban. It

might seem a bit better, but here’s hoping that we have moved ahead by then.

What lies ahead?

For starters, it is not possible to tell the farmers to move on from pesticides. They do whatever

they are told to. Otherwise, the farm ends up losing profits. There is an unsustainable use of

deadly poisons across the world. Any reduction in yield will not be sustainable, considering the

rising populations across the world. Food always wins, even if emotion is involved as was the

case with genetically modified crops. The only winners in the bee argument are those animal and

plant species that tend to survive in the narrow belts, like the tower mustard, and the bees that

feed off it. Survival under artificial selection is the only hope we can harbor, especially when

there are sever attacks on the bees’ physiology.