> Someone remind me: How's this topic tie into beekeeping

What goes into the water, affects us all.

* Prophylactic use of neonicotinoids has become extremely widespread on a wide range of arable crops across much of the developed world. However, only approximately 5% of the neonicotinoid active ingredient is taken up by crop plants and most instead disperses into the wider environment. 

* Neonicotinoids continue to be found in a wide range of different waterways including ditches, puddles, ponds, mountain streams, rivers, temporary wetlands, snowmelt, groundwater and in outflow from water processing plants. 

* Neonicotinoids have been shown to be present in the pollen, nectar and foliage of non-crop plants adjacent to agricultural fields. This ranges from herbaceous annual weeds to perennial woody vegetation. Of particular concern, this includes some plants sown adjacent to agricultural fields specifically for the purposes of pollinator conservation. 

* These water soluble compounds are not restricted to agricultural crops, instead permeating most parts of the agricultural environments in which they are used and in some cases reaching further afield via waterways and runoff water.

Wood, Thomas James, and Dave Goulson. "The Environmental Risks of neonicotinoid pesticides: a review of the evidence post-2013." bioRxiv (2017): 098897.

             ***********************************************
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