Lo si sopettava da anni, oggi una conferma accademica: i neonicotinoidi, nuova genie di insetticidi per l'agricoltura, sono la causa principale della moria delle api che avviene in tutto il mondo.
I neonicotiniodi sono degli inferenti endocrini, in Italia sono stati sospesi da due anni ( a bloccarli fu il ministro dell'agricoltura Luca Zaia).
Inoltre l' Istituto Superiore di Sanità evidenzia il fatto che tali insetticidi potrebbero danneggiare anche animali di grossa taglia come l'uomo.
Christian H. Krupke, Greg J. Hunt, Brian D. Eitzer, Gladys Andino, Krispn Given
Populations of honeybees and other pollinators have declined
worldwide in recent years. A variety of stressors have been implicated
as potential causes, including agricultural pesticides. Neonicotinoid insecticides,
which are widely used and highly toxic to honeybees, have been found in
previous analyses of honeybee pollen and comb material. However, the
routes of exposure have remained largely undefined. We used LC/MS-MS to
analyze samples of honeybees, pollen stored in the hive and several
potential exposure routes associated with plantings of neonicotinoid
treated maize. Our results demonstrate that bees are exposed to these
compounds and several other agricultural pesticides in several ways
throughout the foraging period. During spring, extremely high levels of
clothianidin and thiamethoxam were found in planter exhaust material
produced during the planting of treated maize seed. We also found
neonicotinoids in the soil of each field we sampled, including unplanted
fields. Plants visited by foraging bees (dandelions) growing near these
fields were found to contain neonicotinoids as well. This indicates
deposition of neonicotinoids on the flowers, uptake by the root system,
or both. Dead bees collected near hive entrances during the spring
sampling period were found to contain clothianidin as well, although
whether exposure was oral (consuming pollen) or by contact (soil/planter
dust) is unclear. We also detected the insecticide clothianidin in
pollen collected by bees and stored in the hive. When maize plants in
our field reached anthesis, maize pollen from treated seed was found to
contain clothianidin and other pesticides; and honeybees in our study
readily collected maize pollen. These findings clarify some of the
mechanisms by which honeybees may be exposed to agricultural pesticides
throughout the growing season. These results have implications for a
wide range of large-scale annual cropping systems that utilize
neonicotinoid seed treatments.
Provided by Purdue University
