Honey bees forget their way to the nest because of pesticides

The European Commission (EC) yesterday asked member states to limit the use of certain pesticides that could harm honey bees.

>>>Investigate the death of 20,000 bees

Honey bees play an important role in agricultural production. For example, experts estimate honey bees produce £ 200 million for the UK economy each year. But now the number of bees has been mysteriously decreasing in Europe and the United States over the past decade. In the UK alone, 20% of bees disappeared in 2008.

Some studies show that neonicotinoid insecticide generation is one of the perpetrators of reduced bee populations. The generation of neonicotinoid insecticides has been in common use since the 1990s because, unlike other pesticides, they do not seem to be harmful to mammals. However, scientists claim neonicotinoids in pollen destroy the nervous system of young bees, making them susceptible to infection and unable to remember the way back to the nest.

If bees eat pollen contaminated with neonicotinoid, their nervous system will suffer
destroying them so they can't remember the way back to the nest if they fly out. (Photo: SPL)

Therefore, the EC calls on member countries to allow people to spray only those pesticides that are unattractive to bees to allow people to spray these pesticides. In addition, the EC wants to ban the sale of neonicotinoid-treated seeds, the BBC reported.

Mr. Tonio Borg, High Commissioner in charge of health and consumer policies, said Europe must act "decisively and quickly" to protect the future of bees in the context of their numbers. decline.

Earlier this month, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) issued guidelines on the use of neonicotinoids, which they thought were harmful to bees if humans sprayed it on flowers.

Frederic Vincent, a spokesman for the EC, said officials had reviewed scientific evidence before making a recommendation.

"We have asked EFSA to provide a scientific assessment of neonicotinoid. They say it is a substance that could harm bees," he said.

France, Germany and Slovenia have banned the use of neonicotinoid-containing pesticides. The EC wants the remaining countries to limit those pesticides from June or July, then two years later they will evaluate the effectiveness of this measure.