Tag Archives: Global Honey Bee Colony Disorders and Other Threats to Insect Pollinators

Nanoparticles in diesel pollution and honeybees

The honey bee collapse, more properly colony collapse disorder (CCD), has been news in North America and Europe  for quite some time. There are any number of reasons for the disorder being suggested. (As I understand the current thinking on this issue, the collapse is a consequence of a number of different factors.) Recently, scientists at the United Nations have suggested CCD is becoming a global problem. From a March 10, 2011 news article by Michael McCarthy for The Independent,

Declines in bee colonies date back to the mid 1960s in Europe, but have accelerated since 1998, while in North America, losses of colonies since 2004 have left the continent with fewer managed pollinators than at any time in the past 50 years, says the report [Global Honey Bee Colony Disorders and Other Threats to Insect Pollinators {a United Nations Environment Programme Emerging Issues Report}].

Now Chinese beekeepers have recently “faced several inexplicable and complex symptoms of colony losses in both species”, the report says. And it has been reported elsewhere that some Chinese farmers have had to resort to pollinating fruit trees by hand because of the lack of insects.

Furthermore, a quarter of beekeepers in Japan “have recently been confronted with sudden losses of their bee colonies”, while in Africa, beekeepers along the Egyptian Nile have been reporting signs of “colony collapse disorder” – although to date there are no other confirmed reports from the rest of the continent.

The report lists a number of factors which may be coming together to cause the decline and they include:

* Habitat degradation, including the loss of flowering plant species that provide food for bees;

* Some insecticides, including the so-called “systemic” insecticides which can migrate to the entire plant as it grows and be taken in by bees in nectar and pollen;

* Parasites and pests, such as the well-known Varroa mite;

* Air pollution, which may be interfering with the ability of bees to find flowering plants and thus food – scents that could travel more than 800 metres in the 1800s now reach less than 200 metres from a plant.

Here’s one more possibility: scientists from the University of Southampton are suggesting nanoparticles in diesel fuel may be a contributing factor in CCD. From the Oct. 7, 2011 news item on Nanowerk,

Professor Guy Poppy, an ecologist, Dr Tracey Newman, a neuroscientist, and their team from the University of Southampton believe that minuscule particles, or ‘nanoparticles’, emitted from diesel engines could be affecting bees’ brains and damaging their inbuilt ‘sat-navs’. They believe this may stop worker bees finding their way back to the hive.

The team is also investigating the possibility that nanoparticles are one of a number of stress factors that could lead to a tipping point in bee health, which in turn could contribute to bee colony collapse.

“Diesel road-traffic is increasing in the UK and research from the US has shown that nanoparticles found in its fumes can be detrimental to the brains of animals when they are exposed to large doses. We want to find out if bees are affected in the same way – and answer the question of why bees aren’t finding their way back to the hive when they leave to find food,” explains Professor Poppy.

The team from the University of Southampton, including biologists, nanotechnology researchers and ecologists will test the behavioural and neurological changes in honey bees, after exposure to diesel nanoparticles.

If I understand this correctly, the nanoparticles have not been added to the diesel fuel; they are a by-product of its use, which means we’ve been emitting diesel fuel nanoparticles for quite some time.

In any event, having a number of contributing factors for CCD suggests that a comprehensive strategy will be needed to solve the problems. In short, international cooperation will be required to ban chemicals, change habitat use, etc.