Consider banning insecticides to save honeybees: Merulla

Honeybees are dying at an alarming rate, and one city councillor wants to look at banning the pesticides that aresuspected of contributing to it.

Coun. Sam Merulla wants the city to meet with McMaster University, the Royal Botanical Gardens, the Ontario Beekeepers Association and others to look at how the city can curb the alarming death of bees.

That could include banning neonicotinoids, a widely used insecticide some research has found iscontributing to honeybee deaths.

Theres tangible evidence that we cant afford to wait and see.- Coun. Sam Merulla

Im actually stunned by the impact thats before us, with very little action from higher levels of government, said Merulla, a Ward 4 councillor.

Theres an irresponsibility to the just-wait-and-see approach when theres tangible evidence that we cant afford to wait and see.

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Merulla will bring the motion forward in July. Dan Davidson, president of the Ontario Beekeepers Association, says Prince Edward County recently banned neonicotinoids. He welcomes it.

Two winters ago, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported that nearly one-third of bee colonies had died that winter. Government agencies in Europe reported similar numbers.

Bees have seen a sharp decline in recent years, Davidson said. And while the loss isnt as bad as in 2013, it still has dire implications.

Many fruit, vegetable and seed crops depend on pollination, and honeybees are one of the worlds leading pollinators. Of the 100 species that provide 90 per cent of the food worldwide, honeybees pollinate 71 of them. In total, they pollinate about $30 billion worth of crops per year.

Experts have speculated on various reasons for the bee deaths, including a microscopic mite originally from Asia. Davidson thinks its neonicotinoids, which are used on the majority of crops.

Even if beekeepers dont send their bees to fields containing the insecticide, its everywhere, he said. Its on every single acre.

Merulla's motion:

Whereas, honeybees and other pollinating insects are critical to the health of our human and natural ecosystems, and;

Whereas, honeybee species are dying off at a rate too high to guarantee their long-term survival, and;

Whereas, there is growing evidence suggesting that the primary factor in honeybee decline is the presence of neonicotinoid insecticides, commonly found in commonly used agricultural pesticides, and;

Whereas, the European Union and other governments have banned neonicotinoids.

Therefore, that staff consult with the Royal Botanical Gardens, McMaster University, the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture Food and Rural Affairs, the Hamilton Federation of Agriculture,the Ontario Beekeepers Association and others to determine the local health of honeybees, the use of neonicotinoids, and report back on options for local action.