The Co-operative has launched a new radical Plan Bee campaign to prevent suppliers of its own-brand fresh produce from using neonicotinoid insecticides as these chemicals are implicated in billions of honeybee deaths worldwide.

Following a report by The Guardian which suggested neonicotinoid insecticides acting on the central nervous can cause paralysis and death in insects and are the cause of widespread honeybee deaths, the UK supermarket committed £150,000 to further research as part of Plan Bee.

But British Crop Protection Council (BCPC) chairman, Dr Colin Ruscoe, said: “This is just another example of organisations reacting in an emotive area without reference to the science base.

“The well-documented decline in honeybee populations is a complex problem. Losses are due to a combination of issues weather, the Varroa mite and other factors which require further research. That is why Defra is putting an extra £4.3m of funding into bee health research.”

For several years, bee colonies have been suffering. European Foul Brood (EFB) disease and Varroa mite infections have increased and successive wet springs have reduced foraging, decreasing honey yields and affecting bee health going into the winter. New crop rotations, more effective weed control and reduction of crop diversity may also have contributed.

At the same time, insecticide (including neonicotinoid) seed treatments have become more commonly used - offering lower use rates and eliminating spray drift. When applied as a seed treatment, extremely small amounts of neonicitinoid can be expressed in nectar but these are well below any acute or chronic effect level in bees, the BCPC.

In Germany last spring, there was some evidence that dust from concentrated seed treatments was blown into hedgerows and field margins, resulting in exposure of foraging bees and some kills at the hive. This problem has now been controlled by improved seed treatment formulations and drilling practices.

“The additional research committed by the Secretary of State for DEFRA is very welcome and it is encouraging to see that a major supermarket - Sainsbury’s, is supporting projects like Operation Bumblebee, which benefit bumble- and honeybees alike,” said Ruscoe.

The British Crop Production Council (BCPC) is a non-profit making organisation. Over 50 years it has developed an international reputation for sound science in the fields of agriculture, food and the environment. Its conferences, publications and working groups bring together scientists to form opinion on key issues.

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