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STAF: 'No link between neonics and bee deaths'
Agri Facts Foundation (STAFF) will present its petition in The Hague on Tuesday 4 June. The agricultural spokespersons in the House of Representatives are thus called on to think about the link between the ban on neonicotinoids and bee deaths. STAF also investigated the alleged bee deaths itself, but cannot find a link.
STAF has deliberately chosen this date, because the debate on plant protection products is on the agenda on Thursday 6 June. "We call on the MPs to take action," explains research coordinator Geesje Rotgers. "After the ban on the coating with neonicotinoids on sugar beet seed, there was a stir. Minister Carola Schouten (Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality) points to international reports from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) on bee deaths. We show that the situation in the Netherlands is very different. is."
'Data interpreted too simply'
In the Netherlands, the bee and bumblebee species are swept into one pile and it is subsequently concluded that all bees are doing badly. "That is unjustified," says STAF. German researchers have been looking at individual species for much longer, because the differences can be huge. "STAF was also able to use the German research method, which made our work easier," explains Rotgers. "Bee species have been researched since 1. A relatively large amount of data is therefore available, compared to other insects (such as the gadfly)."
STAF has requested all available data on bees and bumblebees in the Netherlands. It concerns 380 species. In 112 of those species, it appears that the numbers increased between 2003 and 2018. In 75 species there was a decrease of 50% or more. The rest shows a moderate downward trend, stable trend or insufficient information is available. To find the link with neonicotinoids use, it examined a number of things: the trend between 2003 and 2018, in which parts of the country the bee species occurs, where the species thrives best and on which flowers it flies. We mainly looked at the trends per species. However, this was not always possible because the information is incomplete.
"Since the use of neonics, which began in the mid-90s, you would expect to see a decline in populations," Rotgers explains. "The opposite turns out to be true. The bee species that are increasing in numbers usually have a large habitat. They often forage on the yellow composites (e.g. dandelions, Jacob's ragwort, willows, cow parsley and field thistle). They are very common in rural areas. Urban area is usually not avoided by these species."
Bee thrives less in nature reserves
The species that do decline sharply, relatively often live in nature reserves and on natural grassland. They have a limited range and a strong preference for less common flowers. Rotgers: "None of the bee species studied use tilled agricultural land as a habitat for nesting. It is impossible for bees to come into contact with pesticides in the soil."
STAF therefore cautiously concludes that the neonicotinoids go well with bees and bumblebees. Where this product is used, the species thrive. "In the petition we ask the minister to test our report," Rotgers explains. "On that basis, we hope that the ban on neonics will be reconsidered. If you state that the product is dangerous for Dutch bees and bumblebees, then this should also be tested on Dutch species. It is possible that species abroad are affected by plant protection products, but in our country that is not the case."
Kept bees
According to Rotgers, it is less easy to say how the bees kept in our country are doing. "The Netherlands does not have complete data on this. You will find figures about the number of beekeepers and hives per beekeeper, but not about the number of colonies they keep. Germany does have this data and you can see that the number of colonies is decreasing. however, it is by estimates."
She continues: "There is a very broad discussion about bees and bumblebees. It flies in many directions. Earlier we summoned the University of Utrecht to rectify the incorrect information about bee mortality. That resulted in many nasty reactions, but in the end it was adjusted. The bees thrive in the countryside, not in nature. In recent years, many forests have been densely planted. All studies show that bees like open cleared areas with sandy plains."
Useful field margin?
What Rotgers also noticed is the pickiness per bee species. "They only occur in a small area or choose rare flowers. For example, if you look at the available field margin mixtures, it turns out that the flower species there are often not very attractive to bees and bumblebees in the Netherlands. The flowers chosen are pleasing to the eye, but that's about it."
STAF receives many emails with topics that are suggested. According to Rotgers, the bee issue was easily feasible. "That is not the case with all subjects. They sometimes require more than a year of research. That is why we want to scale up our capacity later this year. The next project for STAF is now also in full swing. The foundation is researching teaching materials about the agricultural sector in primary education. We are now going to denounce that."
Niels van der Boom
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