{"id":15045,"date":"2014-06-25T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2014-06-25T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.honeybeehaven.org\/2014\/06\/25\/your-not-so-bee-friendly-plants\/"},"modified":"2014-06-25T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2014-06-25T00:00:00","slug":"your-not-so-bee-friendly-plants","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.honeybeehaven.org\/your-not-so-bee-friendly-plants\/","title":{"rendered":"Your (not so) \u201cbee-friendly\u201d plants"},"content":{"rendered":"

Bee-harming pesticides in our lavender and daisies? In the same week that an international body of scientists released a comprehensive global assessment of the harms of pesticides to bees, a new report<\/a> shows that these very same pesticides are found in many of our backyard plants \u2014 at levels of concern \u2014 that are meant to support pollinators.<\/p>

The report shows that 51% of garden plant samples purchased at top garden retailers (Home Depot, Lowe\u2019s and Walmart) in 18 cities in the United States and Canada contain neonicotinoid (neonic) pesticides \u2014 a key driver of declining bee populations. Concerning levels of the pesticides were found in places like California\u2019s San Francisco Bay Area and in Minnesota\u2019s Twin Cities. In some cases, multiple neonics were found in the same plant, in the leaves, stalks or flowers.<\/p>

Last year, we conducted a smaller version<\/a> of the research project with Pesticide Research Institute and Friends of the Earth. And the good news is that some retailers are taking notice, including some home and garden stores like Bachman\u2019s and BJ\u2019s Wholesale Club, as well as grocers pledging to remove the pesticides from their shelves and supply chains.<\/p>

The big players \u2014 Home Depot, Lowe\u2019s and Walmart \u2014 have a lot more work to do as they shift industrial nursery growing practices to green, cutting-edge alternatives.<\/p>

Impact of neonics<\/h3>

Neonics are a relatively new class of systemic pesticides that can be applied as seed coatings, as granules or sprayed on plants; they’re taken up through the plant’s vascular system and expressed in pollen and nectar. Even at sublethal doses they’re toxic to bees and other pollinators.<\/p>

But the science is clear: pesticides, particularly neonics, are playing a key role in bee declines.<\/span><\/p>

That’s the case for most of the levels found in nursery plants; they might not kill bees outright but they are increasingly linked to reproductive impairment, immune suppression, homing failure and impaired foraging \u2014 all factors that compound the other stressors bees face and contribute to their decline.<\/p>

However, none of this is true if you ask neonic manufacturers like Bayer and Syngenta. They continue to spin and confuse the issue, downplaying the role their products play by obfuscating the science around pesticides and pollinators and attempting to re-focus public conversation on other bee stressors like mites. But the science is clear: pesticides, particularly neonics, are playing a key role in bee declines.<\/p>

The \u201cwake-up call\u201d science report<\/strong><\/h3>

Earlier this week, 29 independent scientists released<\/a> the four-years-in the-making \u201cWorldwide Integrated Assessment\u201d on the impacts of neonics after reviewing hundreds of scientific papers. The report documents significant harms to honey bees and other pollinators, as well as entire ecosystems that serve as the underpinnings of our food system.<\/p>

One of the report’s lead authors summarized the situation as:<\/p>

“Far from protecting food production the use of neonics is threatening the very infrastructure which enables it, imperiling the pollinators, habitat engineer and natural pest controllers at the heart of a functioning ecosystem.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>

Among the findings of the report:<\/p>