Reading Time: 4 minutes Already facing federally mandated phase-outs from many major on-farm uses in Canada over risks to aquatic insects, neonicotinoids aren’t expected to pose “unacceptable risks” to pollinators when used on canola seed or hothouse vegetables in the meantime. Health Canada said as much Thursday as it released its final re-evaluation decisions for three neonic pesticides — […] Read more
Neonic-treated canola not an ‘unacceptable risk’ for pollinators
EU nations back ban on all outdoor neonic use
Reading Time: 2 minutes Brussels | Reuters — European Union countries backed a proposal on Friday to ban all use outdoors of insecticides known as neonicotinoids that studies have shown can harm bees. The ban, championed by environmental activists, covers the use of three active substances — imidacloprid, developed by Bayer CropScience; clothianidin, developed by Takeda Chemical Industries and […] Read more
Two neonics set for three-year extensions on registration
Reading Time: 3 minutes Health Canada’s pesticide regulator proposes to allow continued registration for two members of the neonicotinoid family of pesticides, both of which are under heavy scrutiny for their effects on bees and other pollinators. The Pest Management Regulatory Agency on Tuesday issued proposed decisions on clothianidin and thiamethoxam that would extend the products’ existing conditional registrations […] Read more
Data mining finds no honeybee colony risk from correct neonic use
Reading Time: 2 minutes An expedition through published and unpublished studies on neonicotinoid pesticides has led a Guelph research team to find no colony-level risk to honeybees from the seed treatments — if they’re correctly used. The University of Guelph team, led by toxicologist Keith Solomon and adjunct professor Gladys Stephenson, analyzed 64 papers from “open, peer-reviewed literature” on […] Read more
U of S research reveals controversial insecticides are toxic to songbirds
Reading Time: 2 minutes Saskatoon – Research at the University of Saskatchewan (U of S) has linked the use of insecticides to serious health issues in songbirds. “Studies on the risks of neonicotinoids have often focused on bees that have been experiencing population declines. However, it is not just bees that are being affected by these insecticides,” said Christy […] Read more
Global study finds trace neonics in much of world’s honey
Reading Time: 2 minutes A study by Swiss scientists has found trace levels of at least one neonicotinoid pesticide in three-quarters of the honey samples it collected from around the world. The study, spearheaded by a team from Switzerland’s Universite de Neuchatel and published in Friday’s edition of the journal Science, was meant to assess “global exposure of pollinators […] Read more
PMRA seeks phase-out for neonic pesticide imidacloprid
Reading Time: 4 minutes Canadian farm use of the pesticide imidacloprid, from the controversial neonicotinoid family, is facing a three- to five-year phase-out from approval over its potential risks to aquatic insects. Health Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) on Wednesday announced it had completed a re-evaluation of the pesticide and has kicked off a 90-day public consultation period, […] Read more
Regulatory reviews show slim risk to bees from imidacloprid
Reading Time: 4 minutes Label directions and rules for foliar and on-seed use of imidacloprid pesticides should either prevent or limit the risks to honeybees and other pollinators from the chemical, Canadian and U.S. regulators say in a new early-stage risk assessment. Health Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Wednesday released […] Read more
Ontario’s neonic limits tabled for public comment
Reading Time: 3 minutes Proposed new controls on the use and sale of corn and soybean seed treated with neonicotinoid pesticides in Ontario are up for public comment between now and early May. The provincial government made its move Monday — three days ahead of a scheduled meeting between Agriculture Minister Jeff Leal and Grain Farmers of Ontario chairman […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
