Chemical increase a threat to bees
A 6.5% increase in pesticide use between 2005 and 2010 is proving a further threat to bee populations, which have already fallen dramatically in recent years, according to research launched by Friends of the Earth.
The report, 'The Decline of England's Bees' was carried out by leading bee experts at the University of Reading, as part of the environment charity's latest campaign: The Bee Cause.
As well as an overall rise in pesticide use, the report reveals an increase in insecticides that tend to be used on crops pollinated by bees, thereby increasing the risk to them. The report also shows the use of herbicides can destroy important sources of food for bees.
Bees are critical to Britain’s food supply and economy, but numbers of some species have dropped significantly in recent years. The report found that two British bumblebee species have become extinct, solitary bees have declined in over half the areas they were studied in and managed honey bee colonies fell by 53% between 1985 and 2005.
Research released last month by Friends of the Earth revealed it would cost the UK an extra £1.8billion every year to hand pollinate crops without bees.
Defra has published guidance for the vet sector ahead of a proposed UK-EU Sanitary and Phytosanitary agreement.
