Beekeeping, Gardening and Quilting in Eastern Wake County, North Carolina









Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Big Business (Bayer Cropscience) vs - Bees

I know - I'm supposed to be taking a break but this is important - not only to beekeepers but to everyone. Bayer has been selling a pesticide "clothianidin" sold under the brand name "Poncho" - it is used to coat corn, sugar beet and sorghum seeds and protect them from pests. A nerve toxin that has the potential to be toxic for bees, it gets into all parts of the plant that grows from the coated seed.
In 1999, French regulators banned an older relative of Poncho and subsequently declined approval for clothianidin.
The investigation/compliant wants to know how much Bayer actually knows about the part that clothianidin may have played in the loss of millions of U.S./ honeybee colonies.

The coalition wants clothianidin banned and Bayer to withdraw all of the pesticides.

Link on the site below to read the article

http://www.newsobserver.com/business/story/1193866.html