Neonicotinoid pesticides blamed for bee deaths are to be banned across Europe after an EU vote which took place today.

Honey bees are vital pollinators, but are in decline

Wild species such as honey bees are believed to be responsible for the pollination of around a third of the world’s crops, and contribute billions of dollars each year to the global economy. However, there has been widespread concern about their rapid decline, which has been blamed on a number of factors, including habitat loss, disease and the use of insecticides.

Neonicotinoids are nicotine-like chemicals which are toxic to insects and which have been widely used as pesticides for more than a decade. They are usually applied to seeds, and are taken up by all parts of the growing plant, including its pollen and nectar.

Although less harmful than some of the pesticides they replaced, neonicotinoids have been blamed for contributing to bee declines, with a number of studies showing harmful effects on bee behaviour and survival. The combined effects of more than one pesticide have also been shown to put bumblebee colonies at risk.

Pesticides have also been shown to have negative effects on bumblebees

However, many farmers and chemical companies argue that the science is inconclusive and the studies do not necessarily reflect field conditions, and that a ban on these pesticides would harm food production.

Intense lobbying

There has been intense lobbying by both sides in the run-up to today’s vote, with nearly 3 million signatures collected in support of a ban, and campaigners rallying in London last Friday to call for action.

Some countries, including Germany, Italy and France, have already put restrictions on neonicotinoids, while some UK retailers have taken action by removing them from their shelves and supply chains.

A previous vote by the EU on whether to ban the chemicals was inconclusive, so the European Commission went to an appeals committee. Fifteen countries have now voted in favour of a ban, while eight voted against, including the UK, and four abstained. Although not a large majority, this was enough for the Commission to put in place a two-year ban on neonicotinoids.

Other threats to bees include habitat loss and disease

After the vote, the EU Health Commissioner Tonio Borg said, “I pledge to do my utmost to ensure that our bees, which are so vital to our ecosystem and contribute over 22 billion Euros ($29 billion) annually to European agriculture, are protected.”

More to be done for bees

Speaking about the vote, Andrew Pendleton of Friends of the Earth said, “This decision is a significant victory for common sense and our beleaguered bee populations. Restricting the use of these pesticides could be an historic milestone on the road to recovery for these crucial pollinators.”

The new ban will prohibit the sale and use of seeds treated with neonicotinoids, and will also prohibit the sale of these chemicals to amateur growers. However, it will not apply to crops that are non-attractive to bees, or to crops that are grown over winter.

Some have warned that the ban could lead to the return of older, more harmful pesticides. However, supporters say that this has not happened in countries that have already banned the chemicals, and that the use of more natural methods of pest control can tackle any problems.

Bees are estimated to be worth billions of dollars to the global economy

“Few people would disagree that we need to protect our food production, but it shouldn’t be at the cost of damaging the environment. Indeed, there are several alternatives to using neonicotinoids, and other pesticides, and this a great opportunity for farmers to adopt these practices to protect bees and other pollinators,” said Professor Simon Potts, a scientist at the University of Reading.

“A short-term decision to keep using harmful products may be convenient, but will almost certainly have much greater long-term costs for food production and the environment,” he said.

Although the ban is good news for bees, these important pollinators still face a number of other threats, and more still needs to be done to protect them. A monitoring programme will also be needed to assess the effects of the two-year ban on bees and other pollinating insects.

Read more on this story at BBC News – Bee deaths: EU to ban neonicotinoid pesticides and The Guardian – Bee-harming pesticides banned in Europe.

View photos and videos of bees on ARKive.

Liz Shaw, ARKive Text Author

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They may not be cute or fluffy, but insects are definitely some of the most fascinating animals on the planet. These tiny creatures make up nearly half of all known species and are vital to the world’s ecosystems.

All insects have a hard, chitinous ‘exoskeleton’, six pairs of legs and a body divided into three sections. However, they are extremely diverse and show an incredible range of adaptations.

Join us as we delve into a miniature world and explore ten of ARKive’s most fascinating insects and their adaptations!

Brilliant beetles

A giant of the insect world, the male elephant beetle has a long, rhinoceros-like horn on its head which it uses to fight other males. The larvae of this species grow to an even more impressive size than the adults, measuring up to 22 centimetres in length! Beetles are characterised by their tough pair of modified forewings, or ‘elytra’, and are the most successful group of animals on the planet, making up around 40% of insect species and 1 in 5 of all animals.

Flying beauty

The monarch butterfly is best known for its spectacular long-distance migrations, with some populations travelling as far as 3,000 miles (4,800 kilometres) south to their wintering grounds in Mexico. Millions of individuals congregate in small areas of forest over winter, blanketing the trees on which they roost. Insects are the only invertebrates to have evolved the ability to fly, and this has played a key role in their success.

Powerful predator

The dragonhunter is an aptly named species, as it specialises in hunting other dragonflies as well as other large insects. It is a large and distinctive species with long, powerful legs and wings, and like other dragonflies it is a voracious predator. Adult dragonflies have acute eyesight and superb flying abilities, and are able to catch prey in the air. Dragonfly larvae live in water and are also formidable predators, shooting out their modified mouthparts to catch prey.

Dramatic transformation

A common and widespread butterfly, the large white lays batches of eggs on its food plant, and the eggs hatch into caterpillars a week or two later. The caterpillars feed, grow and moult, and eventually turn into pupae. Some pupae hatch into adults in just two weeks, but later ones remain as pupae over winter, hatching into adults the following spring. This process of metamorphosis occurs in many insects, and means the adult stage has the primary purpose of dispersing and reproducing, while the main function of the larva is to feed and grow.

Super senses

Although unpopular, the house fly plays a vital role in decomposition and the recycling of nutrients. To feed, this species spits onto food before sucking it up with its sponge-like mouthparts. As in other flies, its second pair of wings is modified into small appendages which help with balance, and claws and pads on its feet help the house fly to grip any surface. This species has surprisingly keen senses, with acute vision and an amazing ability to taste with its feet!

Now you see it…

Like many insects, the Lompoc grasshopper uses camouflage to avoid predators. Other species go to the opposite extreme, displaying bright colours that advertise to predators that they are toxic or taste bad. Grasshoppers differ from crickets in their shorter antennae and they produce sound by rubbing their hind legs against their wings, rather than by rubbing their wings together. Intriguingly, grasshoppers have ears on their abdomen, and crickets have them on their front legs.

Sociable species

Like other ant species, the leaf-cutter ant has a fascinating and complex social system. Its colonies contain millions of individuals, divided into different types or ‘castes’, each of which does a different job. Only the queen reproduces, laying thousands of eggs each day, while large soldiers protect the colony and other workers cut leaves to bring back to the huge underground nest. Leaf-cutter ants don’t actually eat leaves, instead using them to cultivate a fungus on which they feed.

Bouncing bugs

The common froghopper is capable of leaping 70 centimetres into the air – the equivalent of a human jumping over a tower block – and its jump is so powerful that it creates G-forces of over 400 gravities, compared to the 5 gravities experienced by astronauts blasting into space! Although many insects are referred to as bugs, the ‘true’ bugs are species in the order Hemiptera, which include the common froghopper. All bugs have specialised piercing and sucking mouthparts, which in the froghopper are used for feeding on plant sap.

Important insect

Honey bees live in hives consisting of wax ‘honeycombs’, which are made up of cells used to store food and rear the young. Only the queen honey bee reproduces, while the sterile workers collect nectar and pollen and store the nectar as honey. The honey bee plays a vital role in pollinating flowering plants, including crops, and has been domesticated by humans for at least 5,000 years. However, this important species is under threat from habitat loss, the use of insecticides and the spread of a parasitic mite.

Under threat

The large, heavy-bodied Lord Howe Island stick-insect was thought to have become extinct around 1920 after rats were introduced to Lord Howe Island, the only place it was known to exist. Fortunately, the species was rediscovered on a small rocky outcrop 23 kilometres away in 2001. This unusual insect, sometimes known as the ‘tree lobster’, is now being bred in captivity with the hope of reintroducing it into the wild.

Insects are not always the most popular or well-loved of animals, and are often overlooked in favour of furrier, cuddlier and cuter species. However, they are vitally important to the planet and are captivating creatures in their own right.

The insect world is currently being celebrated in the new ‘Alien Nation Season’ showing on BBC Four in the UK, and you can also find out more these fascinating creatures at BBC Nature – Insects.

You can also view more photos and videos of insects on ARKive.

With over a million species of insect described so far it’s tricky to pick a favourite, but if there’s one you think we should be celebrating we would love to hear about it!

Liz Shaw, ARKive Text Author

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Sinai baton blue (Pseudophilotes sinaicus)

Species: Sinai baton blue (Pseudophilotes sinaicus)

Status: Critically Endangered (CR)

Interesting Fact: The Sinai baton blue is thought to be the smallest butterfly in the world, with a wingspan of just six to nine millimetres.

The Sinai baton blue is restricted to one tiny, mountainous, arid area in southern Sinai, Egypt, where its entire world population occupies a mere seven square kilometres. Both the adults and caterpillars feed almost exclusively on Sinai thyme (Thymus decussatus). The caterpillars of this species are sometimes tended by ants, in return secreting sugary droplets which the ants consume. The Sinai baton blue caterpillars pupate in the soil beneath their host plant over winter, emerging as adults between May and mid-June.

The Sinai baton blue is under threat from climate change, which may further reduce its already limited habitat. It is also vulnerable to human disturbance and the collection of its host plant for medicinal purposes. Fortunately, this tiny butterfly occurs entirely within the St Katherine Protectorate, where efforts are underway to protect both the butterfly and its host plant. Action is also being taken to increase public awareness of the Sinai baton blue, which is considered to be a flagship species for the area.

Find out more about the conservation of the Sinai baton blue at the Sinai Baton Blue Butterfly Conservation Project.

See more images of the Sinai baton blue on ARKive.

Liz Shaw, ARKive Text Author

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Native ladybird species in the UK and Europe are declining rapidly due to the spread of the invasive harlequin ladybird, according to scientists.

Harlequin ladybird

Invasive alien

Native to Asia, the harlequin ladybird (Harmonia axyridis) has been introduced to many countries as a pest control agent, but is now spreading rapidly and has itself become a pest species.

Introduced to North America in 1988, the harlequin is now the most widespread ladybird on the continent, and the species has also invaded much of northwest Europe. It was first spotted in Belgium in 2001, and arrived in the UK and Switzerland in 2004.

Since the harlequin’s arrival, scientists have warned about its potentially harmful impacts on native ladybird species. However, new research published in the journal Diversity and Distributions has now measured the scale of these impacts and demonstrated a strong link between the spread of the harlequin and rapid declines in native ladybirds.

Harlequin ladybirds showing some of the colour variation in this species

Rapid declines

Led by the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology in the UK, the study was made possible by thousands of records submitted as part of “citizen science” projects that record ladybird observations across Britain, Belgium and Switzerland.

Using this data, the researchers found that in the five years following the harlequin ladybird’s arrival in the UK, seven out of eight native ladybird species declined. Similar declines were also found in Belgium and Switzerland.

Particularly badly affected was the two-spot ladybird (Adalia bipunctata), which is estimated to have declined by 44% in the UK and 30% in Belgium. It is now difficult to spot in some areas where it was once common.

Outcompeted

Like many other native ladybirds, the two-spot ladybird is smaller than the harlequin and likely to be outcompeted for food and habitat. The harlequin is also likely to prey on the eggs and larvae of native ladybird species. In addition, the harlequin ladybird may potentially be more toxic than native species, giving it better protection against predators.

Harlequin ladybird in flight

Speaking about the results, Helen Roy of the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology said, “It’s a very real decline, which should be put amongst a whole other set of factors putting ladybirds in a more fragile situation.”

Such factors may include the intensification of agriculture and climate change.

The only UK species apparently unaffected by the harlequin’s arrival was the seven-spot ladybird (Coccinella septempunctata), which is similar in size to the harlequin and not in such direct competition for habitat as other native species.

Seven-spot ladybird feeding on aphids

Ecosystem impacts

The researchers have warned of potentially serious consequences if the harlequin ladybird continues to spread. Ladybirds play an essential role in ecosystems, keeping pests such as aphids in check. Although the harlequin ladybird also feeds on aphids, having just one species playing this role could make the overall ecosystem weaker.

Tim Adriaens of the Research Institute for Nature and Forest (INBO) in Belgium, said, “At the continental scale, the arrival of the harlequin could impact on the resilience of ecosystems and severely diminish the vital services that ladybirds deliver.”

Read more on this story at BBC News – Ladybird decline driven by ‘invading’ harlequin and at The Telegraph – Harlequin ladybirds threaten British species.

Find out more about how to record UK ladybird sightings at The Harlequin Ladybird Survey and UK Ladybird Survey.

View photos and videos of ladybirds on ARKive.

Liz Shaw, ARKive Species Text Author

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December 17^th is the official anniversary of the first human flight in a powered, heavier-than-air plane, so to mark this historic event we have taken a look at how flight has been mastered by both animals and humans.

The Wright Flight

Little did the Wright Brothers know that when they boarded their muslin-covered, wooden plane on that December morning that they would be paving the way for aviation as we now know it. It is astounding to think how far air travel has come in the last 108 years. We now have planes that can carry over 500 passengers to the other side of the world, in extraordinary comfort in less than 24 hours, the prospect of which back in 1903 would have sounded like something fresh from the pages of a science-fiction novel!

First successful flight of the Wright Flyer, by the Wright brothers.

Animal Inspiration?

Animals conquered flight long before 1903, admittedly in a slightly different fashion. It has proved such a successful strategy that it has evolved independently four times in birds, bats, insects (and pterosaurs), and each of the extant groups is still going strong.

Bats are the only group of mammals to have evolved the ability to fly.

Bats are the second most diverse group of mammals and the only mammal to have developed true powered flight. Birds have the most species of any class of terrestrial vertebrates, and there are more species of insect than all other animals added together, so they must be doing something right!

Insects are the only class of invertebrate that can fly.

Glorious Gliders

The Wright Brothers started out building gliders before honing their designs and moving onto powered flight. Gliding is also a popular strategy in the natural world and can be seen in mammals including the northern flying squirrel. This nocturnal mammal glides between trees using a fold of skin that stretches between its wrists and ankles. This parachute effect allows it to travel up to 45 metres in a single glide, using its tail as a rudder.

The northern flying squirrel can glide as far as 45 metres.

Recipe For Success

So why was it that the Wright Brothers succeeded when so many others had tried and failed? The answer is quite simple; they had achieved both power and control, using a specially designed lightweight engine and controls that allowed the pilot to steer effectively. One of the best examples of powerful, controlled flight in birds has to be the kestrel. Kestrels hunt by sight and are able to hover perfectly still in mid air, even in heavy winds. Once they have locked their sights onto their prey they are able to dive to capture it with incredible accuracy.

Kestrels exhibit both power and control in flight.

Did you know?

• The wandering albatross has the largest wingspan of any bird, measured at over 3.5 metres, and spends the majority of its life in flight.
• The bee hummingbird is the smallest bird in the world and has the smallest wingspan of any bird. It is capable of beating its tiny wings up to 80 times a second.
• One of the heaviest flying birds is the kori bustard which can weigh as much as 20 kilograms.
• The longest invertebrate annual migration is carried out by the monarch butterfly across North America.
• The longest bird migration is undertaken by the Arctic tern which traverses the globe on its annual pole to pole journey, meaning it sees more sunlight each year than any other animal.

Arctic terns undertake the longest bird migration

The wandering albratross has a huge wingspan!

Brilliant Biomimicry

The natural world has long been used as inspiration for technological advances, particularly with when it comes to flight. Leonardo da Vinci was a keen observer of the anatomy and flight of birds and even the Wright Brothers were thought to have studied pigeon flight. As our understanding of biomechanics and animal movement advances it will be exciting to see what’s next for biologically inspired engineering – here’s to seeing what the next 108 years bring!

Laura Sutherland, ARKive Education Officer

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