Declining Bee Population, Clothianidin, and Bayer?

Is there a direct link between declining bee populations, the pesticide Clothianidin, and Bayer (specifically, Bayer CropScience)?

Unfortunately, and not surprisingly, it appears so. Below, I've highlighted some key points demonstrating how this poisonous cocktail from hell has been put together courtesy of Bayer and the U.S. EPA!

How long is it going to take for us to realize that many of these uber corporations are putting money and profits ahead of everything with the financial means to lobby and do so?

How long are we going to continue to allow these offenders to ruin our world in their endless pursuit chasing the almighty dollar?

Declining Bee Populations

Yes, according to the most recent study published by the University of Illinois. The three-year wild bees study, led by entomology professor Sydney Cameron, indicate significant declines in the North American wild bee populations:

“'We have 50 species of bumble bees in North America. We’ve studied eight of them and four of these are significantly in trouble,' said University of Illinois entomology professor Sydney Cameron, who led the study. 'They could potentially recover; some of them might. But we only studied eight. This could be the tip of the iceberg,' she said.

The three-year study analyzed the geographic distribution and genetic diversity of eight species of bumble bees in the U.S., relying on historical records and repeated surveys of about 400 sites. The researchers compiled a database of more than 73,000 museum records and compared them with current sampling based on intensive national surveys of more than 16,000 specimens.

The national analysis found that the relative abundances of four of the eight species analyzed have declined by as much as 96 percent and that their surveyed geographic ranges have shrunk by 23 to 87 percent. Some of these contractions have occurred in the last two decades." -- News Bureau | Illinois

In fact, there are indicators that also point to apparent declines in bee populations worldwide.

What is Clothianidin?

In short, Clothianidin is a checmical pesticide used to protect crop seeds such as corn and canola. Clothianidin expresses itself in the plant's pollen and nectar.

"Clothianidin is an insecticide developed by Takeda Chemical Industries and Bayer AG. Similar to thiamethoxam and imidacloprid, it is a neonicotinoid. Clothianidin is absorbed by plants and then released in pollen and nectar to kill pests. Because of this, it is also dangerous to pollen- and nectar-eating insects like bees." -- WikiPedia

It should also not come as a surprise that honey bees love the pollen and nectar of corn and canola plants.

How is Bayer involved?

For starters, as noted above, they own Clothianidin (also trademarked as Poncho®, Poncho®Beta, Prosper®), but deny any knowledge that Clothianidin is harmful to bees:

"'All studies available to us confirm that our product is safe to bees if the recommended dressing quality is maintained. This is also shown by the product safety assessments which we have submitted to the registration authorities', stated Dr. Richard Schmuck, an ecologist at Bayer CropScience. When used correctly, he said, this crop protection product is safe for operators, consumers and the environment and fulfills the international criteria with regard to ecological systems." -- Bayer CropScience

Keep in mind, that Clothianidin is self-admittedly big business for Bayer. In fact, Bayer's own website claims that Clothianidin was one of their top ten products in 2009, racking up 183 EUR Million in sales (roughly $262 Million in US dollars).

What does the EPA have to do with this?

The EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) has a lot to do with this! Despite, their own acknowledgements regarding the toxicity of Clothianidin, the U.S. EPA conditionally approved Clothianidin back in 2003 and, based on a debunked scientific study performed by Bayer (yes, Bayer!), Clothianidin was unconditionally approved early 2010 by the U.S. EPA (without public notice):

Clothianidin’s major risk concern is to nontarget insects (that is, honey bees). Clothianidin is a neonicotinoid insecticide that is both persistent and systemic. Acute toxicity studies to honey bees show that clothianidin is highly toxic on both a contact and an oral basis. Although EFED does not conduct RQ based risk assessments on non-target insects, information from standard tests and field studies, as well as incident reports involving other neonicotinoids insecticides (e.g., imidacloprid) suggest the potential for long term toxic risk to honey bees and other beneficial insects. An incident in Germany already illustrated the toxicity of clothianidin to honeybees when allowed to drift off-site from treated seed during planting. -- Clothianidin Registration of Prosper T400 Seed Treatment on Mustard Seed (Oilseed and Condiment) and Poncho / Votivo Seed Treatment on Cotton

France, Germany, Italy, and Slovenia have already banned the use of Clothianidn on their crops, but not the EPA!

Additional Documents Related to Clothianidin, Bayer, the EPA, and Their Collective Impact on Bees

• Clothianidin Conditional Registration Timeline
• Name of Chemical: Clothianidin. Reason for Issuance - Conditional Registration. Date Issued: May 30, 2000
• Clothianidin - Notice of Filing a Pesticide Petition to Establish a Tolerance for a Certain Pesticide Chemical in or on Food. Date Filed: June 16, 2004