EU ban on neonicotinoids triggers call for a similar ban in Australia to protect bees

By Sally Bryant, Kristy Reading and David Claughton

An EU ban on the use of insecticides using neonicotinoids prompts an Australian beekeeper and conservationist to call for action in Australia.

Dubbo bee keeper Kieran Sunderland is worried about his bees.

European Union countries have voted to ban the outdoor use of insecticides known as neonicotinoids because of the harm they can do to bees, but there is no sign of a similar ban in Australia.

The EU ban covers the use of three active substances: imidacloprid developed by Bayer CropScience, clothianidin developed by Takeda Chemical Industries and Bayer CropScience, as well as Syngenta's thiamethoxam.
The chemicals are widely used here but the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Authority (APVMA) says there is no evidence of declining bee populations.

Kieran Sunderland disagrees.

"We don't have any scientific degrees but sitting there observing your bees day in day out, we do notice the impact it has on them."

For the last couple of years he has been keeping his bees away from cropping areas where chemicals are used.

"We've stopped doing seed pollination as well because of the impact of chemicals on the bees.

Conservationist Megan Halcroft has spent a lot of time researching native pollinating insects, and she believed numbers were declining as well.

"Once upon a time you could drive from Orange to Sydney and you'd have to stop twice to clean the windscreen, but not any more," Dr Halcroft said.

She was not surprised by the APVMA's statement about a lack of evidence of declining bee populations.

"Of course there's no evidence, there have been no studies." Dr Halcroft said.

She said funding had only just been provided to monitor the impact of the insecticides and data should be available in the next year.

She said farmers were worried.

"Their homes are often in the orchards so they don't want to be spraying with pesticides if they don't have too," Dr Halcroft said.

She urged farmers to avoid spraying at critical times.

"Read the labels, use the proper withholding periods, and don't spray when the crop is in full flower because that's when all of your pollinators are out there," Dr Halcroft said.

"If there are hives out there, notify the beekeeper, avoid spraying when it's windy, notify your neighbours."

She wants farmers to switch to biological controls like paracitoids and natural predators and plant as much natural vegetation and habitat as they can around the crops to encourage native pollinators.