Pollinnation News
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EPA plans temporary pesticide restrictions while bees feed
If honeybees are busy pollinating large, blooming croplands, farmers wanting to spray toxic pesticides will soon have to buzz off, the Environmental Protection Agency is proposing. A federal rule to be proposed Thursday would create temporary pesticide-free zones when certain plants are in bloom around bees that are trucked from farm to farm by professional beekeepers, which are the majority of ...
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EPA Plan to Save Bees Skirts the Issue, Ignores Most Problematic Form of Pesticide Use
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a proposed a new rule today restricting the use of pesticides on crops when honey bees are present for contracted pollination services. While the rule would apply to nearly all insecticides, including neonicotinoids that have been linked to bee population declines, it would not address the most widespread and most problematic use of ...
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Bayer welcomes the U.S. National Pollinator Strategy as a concerted approach to improve pollinator health
Bayer welcomes the National Strategy to Promote the Health of Honey Bees and Other Pollinators published by the U.S. President’s Pollinator Task Force on Tuesday, May 19, 2015. “Bees are important pollinators in modern and sustainable agriculture. The U.S. strategy to improve pollinator health is a reasoned and multi-faceted approach,” said Annette Schuermann, Head of the Bayer ...
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Semios Receives Canadian Regulatory Approval for Aerosol Pheromones in Agriculture
Semios, provider of real-time agricultural information and precision pest management tools, has been given approval by Health Canada, Pest Management Regulatory Authority for their Semios OFM Plus pheromone product that disrupts the mating of oriental fruit moth. “We have already had great success rates with this product in the US and Europe, so we are especially pleased to have the ...
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Bees in the city: urban environments could help support pollinators
Urban areas may support higher levels of bee diversity than expected, new research has shown. The UK-wide study compared three different habitat types — nature reserves, farmland, and urban areas — and found a higher number of different bee species in urban areas than farmland. However, the overall pollinator diversity, which included species of bees, flies, hoverflies and ...
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Warning from European Academies of Science about implications of neonicotinoid use
A joint report to the European Commission from the Academies of Science in the EU Member States concludes that there is rapidly increasing scientific evidence that neonicotinoids have a significant negative impact on the natural environment. Some of the organisms affected fulfil important functions in agricultural areas, for example, the wild pollinators and the predatory insects which can play ...
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Rooftop gardens could grow three quarters of city’s vegetables
Rooftop gardens in cities could provide more than three quarters of the vegetables consumed in them, a case study from Bologna, Italy, suggests. If all suitable flat roof space was used for urban agriculture, rooftop gardens in the city could supply around 12 500 tons of vegetables a year whilst also providing a range of ecosystem services, the researchers say. Any unused roof space in a city ...
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Bee and wasp extinctions in UK driven by historical agricultural changes
Changes in agricultural policy and practice, such as increased intensification and fertiliser use, are responsible for many historical extinctions of pollinator populations in the UK, suggests new research. The study looked at bee and wasp extinction rates in relation to agricultural practices since the mid-19th century. The pollination services provided by insects, such as bees and ...
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Jim Aidala’s Neonicotinoid Webinar discussed in inside EPA Article `State Agriculture Officials Oppose Pesticide Limits In EPA Pollinator Plan`
A February 18, 2015 Daily News feature on InsideEPA.com included comments made by James V. Aidala as part of a presentation before the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture: In a Feb. 3 presentation to NASDA, Jim Aidala of the Washington, DC, law firm Bergeson & Campbell PC and consulting firm The Acta Group, said the federal strategy will include strict requirements on ...
By Acta Group
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Wild bees boost apple harvest
Orchards pollinated by a wide range of wild bee species grow more apples than those pollinated by fewer species, finds a new US study. Its authors suggest that farmers could consider investing in wild bee conservation to improve crop yield. Many farmers around the world hire or manage hives of honeybees to help pollinate crops including fruit and nuts. However, demand for pollinator-dependent ...
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U.S. Government to spend $3.2 million to help monarch butterfly
The federal government on Monday pledged $3.2 million to help save the monarch butterfly, the iconic orange-and-black butterfly that can migrate thousands of miles between the U.S. and Mexico each year. In recent years, the species has experienced a 90 percent decline in population, with the lowest recorded population occurring in 2013-2014. About $2 million will restore more than 200,000 acres ...
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Organic mulch lets insect pollinators do their job
As interest in organic agricultural and horticultural practices continues to grow, so does the need to identify alternative weed control practices. Mulching, a common practice used to control weeds and reduce the need for tillage, can also reduce insect pollinators' exposure to harmful pesticides; however, finding the right mulch materials that allow pollinators to flourish can be challenging. ...
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Partnering is key to improve bee health
The “Bayer’s Perspective on Innovation 2014” international press forum held in Leverkusen, Germany, was the venue for the launch of the company’s first bee health magazine, “BEENOW”. The magazine presents Bayer’s efforts to unite partners from around the world, including research institutes and universities, beekeepers, farmers and industry partners, to ...
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EPA approves three new moth mating disruption products
Semios, provider of real-time agricultural information and precision pest management tools, has been given EPA approval for three aerosol pheromone products that disrupt the mating of codling moth and oriental fruit moth. “Our new formula performs extremely well at lower temperatures, emitting a drier mist that disperses quickly across an orchard,” said Michael Gilbert, CEO of ...
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Semios Receives US EPA Approval for 3 New Pheromones To Target the Most Destructive Pests in the Apple & Pear Industry
Semios, provider of real-time agricultural information and precision pest management tools, has been given US EPA approval for three aerosol pheromone products that disrupt the mating of codling moth and oriental fruit moth. “Our new formula performs extremely well at lower temperatures, emitting a drier mist that disperses quickly across an orchard,” said Michael Gilbert, CEO of ...
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Can new biopesticide protect crops without harming honeybees?
A potential new biopesticide, made of spider venom and snowdrop proteins, kills agricultural pests but shows minimal toxicity to honeybees, new research suggests. Learning and memory of honeybees exposed to the biopesticide were not affected, even at doses higher than they would normally encounter in the environment. Insect pollination is vital for food production; however, there are concerns ...
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EPA and USDA to Hold Public Listening Sessions on Pollinator Strategy
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will host two public listening sessions to solicit stakeholder input to assist the Pollinator Health Task Force in development of a federal strategy to protect honey bees and other pollinators. The Task Force is asking for input on the types of activities that could be part of the strategy, including ...
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EPA Finds Neonicotinoid Seed Treatments of Little or No Benefit to U.S. Soybean Production
Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released an analysis of the benefits of neonicotinoid seed treatments for insect control in soybeans. Neonicotinoid pesticides are a class of insecticides widely used on U.S. crops that EPA is reviewing with particular emphasis for their impact on pollinators. The analysis concluded that there is little or no increase in soybean yields using ...
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European bees are at their best health level in years as overwintering losses of colonies sink to record low
European bees are much healthier than many recent media publications appear to suggest. New field data from nearly 400,000 bee colonies from 21 countries in Europe and the Mediterranean show that overwintering losses of honey bee colonies – an important indicator of general bee health – were at their lowest level in years in 2013/2014. “It is great to see that our bees have ...
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Which seeds to sow for bees?
Farmers could help to maintain populations of bees and other pollinators by sowing inexpensive seed mixes on their land, a new study suggests. Researchers surveyed pollinators visiting study plots in Berkshire, UK, and explored how sowing different seed mixes and using different management techniques affected the flowers produced and the pollinators visiting them. Overall, 84% of the crop ...
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