{"id":15002,"date":"2013-08-17T04:21:42","date_gmt":"2013-08-17T04:21:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.honeybeehaven.org\/2013\/08\/17\/bee-friendly-plants-think-again\/"},"modified":"2013-08-17T04:21:42","modified_gmt":"2013-08-17T04:21:42","slug":"bee-friendly-plants-think-again","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.honeybeehaven.org\/bee-friendly-plants-think-again\/","title":{"rendered":"“Bee-friendly” plants? Think again."},"content":{"rendered":"

Honey bees are up against a lot these days<\/a>, no thanks to a lack of action from EPA. And new data released today adds to the growing list of concerns for pollinators: home garden plants that come pre-treated with bee-harming pesticides.<\/p>

In a pilot study released today<\/a> by the Pesticide Research Institute and Friends of the Earth, the groups tested plants from major home garden stores across the country, and found that more than half of the samples contained pesticides at levels shown to harm or kill bees.<\/p>

This adds a new dimension to the broader picture of pesticides and bee health, especially for home gardeners \u2014 like me \u2014 intending to grow bee-friendly plants but inadvertently introducing bees to harmful pesticides. These neonicotinoids (\"neonics\") are making their way into home gardens without our knowledge. And they can leech into the soil from pre-treated plants and be absorbed by plants growing nearby.<\/p>

Here, there and everywhere<\/strong><\/h3>

We've known for some time that use of neonics was widespread; they're the most widely used class of insecticide in the world. They\u2019re applied to more than 140 crops, including much of the corn grown in the U.S. And now, it turns out, we can also find them on bee-friendly plants like tomatoes, Gaillardia<\/em> and Salvia<\/em> purchased at a local garden store.<\/p>

The science is increasingly clear when it comes to neonics; they\u2019ve been linked to massive bee kills<\/a> and they can interfere with the brain functions that bees need to navigate, forage and reproduce. Especially in combination with other common pesticides<\/a> \u2014 and factors like habitat loss and pathogens \u2014 neonics are <\/strong>a catalyst for bee declines.<\/p>

My colleague Emily Marquez, PhD, and PAN's staff scientist, put it like this:<\/p>

\"Bees have enough troubles; there\u2019s no need for home gardens to add to the problem. Studies indicate that widespread use of systemic pesticides like neonicotinoids is contributing to major bee kills around the globe. And even at doses that don\u2019t kill bees, neonics weaken bee immune systems and impair critical brain functions, making it hard for bees to find their food sources and return to the hive.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>

Retailers must do their part<\/h3>

The results of this pilot study are worrisome. They tell us that neonics may be hiding where we don\u2019t expect them. But this information also creates new opportunities for action from consumers and retailers.<\/p>

The results of this pilot study are worrisome. They tell us that neonics may be hiding where we don\u2019t expect them.<\/span><\/p>

Major garden stores like Home Depot and Lowe\u2019s have a responsibility to take neonics off their shelves and to ensure that the plants they sell don\u2019t come pre-treated with these bee-toxic chemicals. There\u2019s precedent for it: retailers in the UK took this step in January<\/a>, with pressure from our allies at Friends of the Earth Europe and PAN UK, and it helped pave the way for the EU\u2019s important decision to implement a two-year restrictions on neonics.<\/p>

Here in the U.S., we\u2019re still waiting for EPA to step up and take the kind of swift action that is needed to protect bees. But as pressure mounts on the agency, retailers have a chance to get ahead of the curve and begin to phase out neonicotinoids now. And in the meantime, diligent home gardeners will keep working to make their backyards truly bee-friendly <\/a>by creating the right food, water and shelter for bees \u2014 and, of course, not applying the same hazardous pesticides in their yards.<\/p>

Take action\u00bb <\/a>Backyard gardens should be part of the solution, not part of the problem. Sign a petition <\/a>asking major garden retailers to stop selling neonic-treated plants and all neonicotinoid products.<\/p>

 <\/p>

Originally posted on PAN's GroundTruth blog<\/a> by Paul Towers.<\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Honey bees are up against a lot these days, no thanks to a lack of action from EPA. And new data released today adds to the growing list of concerns for pollinators: home garden plants that come pre-treated with bee-harming pesticides.In a pilot study released…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15001,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.honeybeehaven.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15002"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.honeybeehaven.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.honeybeehaven.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.honeybeehaven.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.honeybeehaven.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15002"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.honeybeehaven.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15002\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.honeybeehaven.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15001"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.honeybeehaven.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15002"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.honeybeehaven.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15002"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.honeybeehaven.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15002"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}