for what it is worth, it appears that the EPA was well aware of this and chose to ignore it...

A leaked document from January of 2011 demonstrates that the US Environmental Protection Agency knew about the pesticide’s dangers, but ignored them. The document says Bayer’s “highly toxic” product is a “major risk concern to non target insects“.

Sources:
Panna-http://www.panna.org/sites/default/files/Memo_Nov2010_Clothianidin.pdf

Mongabay-http://news.mongabay.com/2012/0329-hance_beecollapse_pesticides.html

-http://news.mongabay.com/2012/0405-hance_colonycollapse_pesticides.html

Source: http://www.occupymonsanto360.org (http://s.tt/18XcI)

A leaked document from January of 2011 demonstrates that the US Environmental Protection Agency knew about the pesticide’s dangers, but ignored them. The document says Bayer’s “highly toxic” product is a “major risk concern to non target insects“.

Sources:
Panna-http://www.panna.org/sites/default/files/Memo_Nov2010_Clothianidin.pdf

Mongabay-http://news.mongabay.com/2012/0329-hance_beecollapse_pesticides.html

-http://news.mongabay.com/2012/0405-hance_colonycollapse_pesticides.html

Source: http://www.occupymonsanto360.org (http://s.tt/18XcI)

A leaked document from January of 2011 demonstrates that the US Environmental Protection Agency knew about the pesticide’s dangers, but ignored them. The document says Bayer’s “highly toxic” product is a “major risk concern to non target insects “.

Sources:

Panna-http://www.panna.org/sites/default/files/Memo_Nov2010_Clothianidin.pdf

Mongabay-http://news.mongabay.com/2012/0329-hance_beecollapse_pesticides.html

-http://news.mongabay.com/2012/0405-hance_colonycollapse_pesticides.html

The report by the EPA ecologist and chemist notes that the effects of clothianidin on honeybees were not studied as part of the registration application by Bayer CropScience but that the chemical was believed to be harmful to bees based on research in Europe. Whether this would be grounds to reject the registration isn't clear to me but I'm inclined to believe it would not. Given the hue and cry that comes from the right-wingnuts every time the EPA moves to protect the American people from something harmful, I wonder if there isn't some bowing to political pressure.

While there appears to be a clear connection between clothianidin and honeybee colony collapse syndrome, I believe the syndrome predates the use of clothianidin based on the EPA document date. This seems to indicate that clothianidin exacerbates an existing condition. Since the registration application is for the use of clothianidin specifically on mustard seeds and cotton seeds, though, it might be that the chemical has been in use in the U.S. in other ways previously.

You say that the EPA appears to have ignored information that would have prevented the registration of clothianidin, which implies a laxity in the execution of the role of that agency. While that might be the case, I think it is more likely that a rejection of the registration wasn't justified based on research performed by the EPA itself. Given what we have learned over the last 50 years about the human  toxicity of agricultural chemicals, I would rather see the EPA take a more protective position initially from what they have with the registration of clothianidin by Bayer.

for what it is worth, it appears that the EPA was well aware of this and chose to ignore it...

A leaked document from January of 2011 demonstrates that the US Environmental Protection Agency knew about the pesticide’s dangers, but ignored them. The document says Bayer’s “highly toxic” product is a “major risk concern to non target insects“.

Sources:
Panna-http://www.panna.org/sites/default/files/Memo_Nov2010_Clothianidin.pdf

Mongabay-http://news.mongabay.com/2012/0329-hance_beecollapse_pesticides.html

-http://news.mongabay.com/2012/0405-hance_colonycollapse_pesticides.html

Source: http://www.occupymonsanto360.org (http://s.tt/18XcI)

A leaked document from January of 2011 demonstrates that the US Environmental Protection Agency knew about the pesticide’s dangers, but ignored them. The document says Bayer’s “highly toxic” product is a “major risk concern to non target insects“.

Sources:
Panna-http://www.panna.org/sites/default/files/Memo_Nov2010_Clothianidin.pdf

Mongabay-http://news.mongabay.com/2012/0329-hance_beecollapse_pesticides.html

-http://news.mongabay.com/2012/0405-hance_colonycollapse_pesticides.html

Source: http://www.occupymonsanto360.org (http://s.tt/18XcI)

A leaked document from January of 2011 demonstrates that the US Environmental Protection Agency knew about the pesticide’s dangers, but ignored them. The document says Bayer’s “highly toxic” product is a “major risk concern to non target insects “.

Sources:

Panna-http://www.panna.org/sites/default/files/Memo_Nov2010_Clothianidin.pdf

Mongabay-http://news.mongabay.com/2012/0329-hance_beecollapse_pesticides.html

-http://news.mongabay.com/2012/0405-hance_colonycollapse_pesticides.html

 

Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency

SCOTUS Opinion in Sackett v. EPA

*       *       *

We conclude that the compliance order in this case is
final agency action for which there is no adequate remedy
other than APA review, and that the Clean Water Act does
not preclude that review.  We therefore reverse the judg
ment  of  the  Court  of  Appeals  and  remand  the  case  for
further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

It is so ordered.

Common pesticide named as cause of bee decline

By Emma Woollacott, TG Daily

Two new studies have pinned the blame for the catastrophic decline in bee numbers on a commonly-used class of pesticides.

Neonicotinoids are the best-selling insecticides in the world, with global sales of over $1 billion. They are broadly used on many flowering crops, such as oilseed rape and sunflowers, as a seed dressing to protect them against pests. However, the chemicals then travel right through the plant, and low levels are found in the nectar and pollen.

While they're controlled in Germany, Italy and France, they're still widely used in the US and elsewhere.

A study from the University of Stirling in Scotland now shows that bumblebee nests that were exposed to such low levels for just two weeks subsequently grew more slowly. They also showed an 85 percent reduction in the number of new queens they produced.

"Our work suggests that trace exposure of our wild bees to insecticides is having a major impact on their populations," says professor Dave Goulson.

"Only queen bumblebees survive the winter to build new nests in the spring, so reducing the number produced by 85 percent means far fewer nests the following year. Repeated year on year, the long term cumulative effects are likely to be profound."

Meanwhile, scientists at France's National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRA) attached RFID tags to honeybees, and exposed them to a dose of the neonicotinoid thiamethoxam.

The bees became disoriented, and were unable to find their way home.

"There is a clear need to re-evaluate the safety of these chemicals," says Goulson.

Neonicotinoids probably aren't the only problem bees are facing. Previous studies have suggested that so-called colony collapse could also be linked to viruses, mites and climate change - even, controversially, to cellphone use.

Beekeepers helping New Jersey's honey bee colonies rebound

"I was so intrigued with the idea of keeping honey bees," said the Somers Point woman, who just recently started maintaining two hives at a friend's farm in Woodbine.

Only a few years ago, the fate of the honey bee seemed precarious, as colony collapse disorder began spontaneously wiping out hives across the country. But more beekeepers are helping the state's honey bees rebound.

New Jersey counted 13,000 honey-producing colonies in 2010, a 2,000-colony increase from the year before. And the state's bees churned out 455,000 pounds of honey last year, a 100,000-pound increase from 2009.

Click here for stats on U.S. honey production

"At the present moment, the popularity of beekeeping has never been higher," said Seth Belson, president of the New Jersey Beekeepers Association.

Scientists are still investigating the Colony Collapse Disorder phenomenon, which they attribute at least in part to invasive parasites and the transportation of colonies from state to state to pollinate crops.

In New Jersey, the largest threat to honey bees is the Varroa mite, a parasite that sucks fluids from the insect and gives it viruses in return.

On Saturday, Larsen and about 150 other bee enthusiasts attended the beekeepers association's spring meeting at the Cape May County 4-H fairgrounds in Cape May Court House, where they learned how to prevent mite infestations and other bee-management techniques.

State apiarist Tim Schuler said Rutgers University used to hold one beginner beekeeping class a year that would teach about 40 students. The school now holds three a year, each with as many as 80 students, while several beekeepers association chapters offer classes with similar numbers of students.

Chris Hansen, of the North Cape May section of Lower Township, was among the beginner beekeepers at Saturday's event. She recently became an apiarist with her husband, and she expects to soon start selling honey.

"There's so much to learn," she said.

Beekeepers usually either produce honey or rent their hives to farmers who distribute them across their fields to pollinate their crops to compensate for a lack of wild honey bees.

"You don't take the risk of not being pollinated," said blueberry grower Bill DiMeo, owner of Indian Brand Farms in Hammonton.

DiMeo rented 128 colonies this year at $68 apiece for his 240 acres of blueberries. He said the bees are invaluable for making sure his fruit is as healthy as possible.

"From the farmer's perspective, it's like fertilizer," Belson said.

But there are not enough bees in New Jersey to meet the demand of its farmers, so bees are trucked in from all over the country.

States such as North Dakota, which counted 510,000 bee colonies last year, export bees across the U.S. to satisfy the needs of each growing season.

Many of New Jersey's beekeepers are getting into the practice as a hobby, rather than a business, however.

Several of the people at Saturday's event talked about beekeeping as a soothing exercise, describing how the sound and sight of their hives can be as relaxing as listening to a babbling brook or chirping birds.

The wasp is the stinging insect that gives the bee a bad name, they said, as most people confuse the two and consider each a menace.

Honey bees still sting, however, and each of the stations set up in the middle of the fairgrounds had metal canisters that emitted a steady stream of smoke to calm the bees.

Dave Stewart, owner of Stewart's Apiaries in Weymouth Township, said the smell of smoke keeps the insects from transmitting alarm signals and also compels them to fill up on honey, weighing them down and making them less aggressive.

For a seasoned beekeeper such as Stewart, getting stung comes with the territory. He lost count long ago of how many times he has been pricked with the barbed, venomous stingers of the bees he keeps.

"Honestly, probably a thousand," he said with a grin.

Hansen said she had not been stung during her first two years of keeping bees, until she got stung for the first time a week ago.

"Once you get a little confidence, it's very empowering," she said.

A few minutes after she said that, she suddenly jumped and swatted behind her.

She felt a buzz near her rear end. But it turned out to just be her cellphone vibrating.