A widely used microbicide may not be as environmentally friendly as previously thought.

The bacteria Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis (Bti) is now the most commonly used microbicide to control mosquitoes worldwide and is considered to be the least toxic alternative to chemical pesticides. But a new study has revealed adverse effects on the reproductive success of birds.

Despite the effects seen in the recent study, Bti is still much safer than chemical pesticides. "The message that should not be taken away from this study is that people should go back to using chemical pesticide".

http://www.nature.com

Peter Loring Borst
Ithaca  NY USA
peterloringborst.com
[log in to unmask]

             ***********************************************
The BEE-L mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software.  For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html

Guidelines for posting to BEE-L can be found at:
http://honeybeeworld.com/bee-l/guidelines.htm