Honeybee population in free fall; Pennsylvania among worst hit in nation

[whereisjustice]

53. Monsanto -> "Effects of **field-realistic doses** of glyphosate on honeybee appetitive behaviour."

You are being transparently deceitful. It is repugnant. You are attributing things to me that I never said and you cannot support your statements with scientific consensus..

J Exp Biol. 2014 Oct 1;217(Pt 19):3457-64. doi: 10.1242/jeb.109520. Epub 2014 Jul 25.
Effects of field-realistic doses of glyphosate on honeybee appetitive behaviour.
Herbert LT1, Vázquez DE1, Arenas A1, Farina WM2.
Author information
Abstract

Glyphosate (GLY) is a broad-spectrum herbicide used for weed control. The sub-lethal impact of GLY on non-target organisms such as insect pollinators has not yet been evaluated. Apis mellifera is the main pollinator in agricultural environments and is a well-known model for behavioural research. Honeybees are also accurate biosensors of environmental pollutants and their appetitive behavioural response is a suitable tool with which to test sub-lethal effects of agrochemicals. We studied the effects of field-realistic doses of GLY on honeybees exposed chronically or acutely to the herbicide. We focused on sucrose sensitivity, elemental and non-elemental associative olfactory conditioning of the proboscis extension response (PER), and foraging-related behaviour. We found a reduced sensitivity to sucrose and learning performance for the groups chronically exposed to GLY concentrations within the range of recommended doses. When olfactory PER conditioning was performed with sucrose reward with the same GLY concentrations (acute exposure), elemental learning and short-term memory retention decreased significantly compared with controls. Non-elemental associative learning was also impaired by an acute exposure to GLY traces. Altogether, these results imply that GLY at concentrations found in agro-ecosystems as a result of standard spraying can reduce sensitivity to nectar reward and impair associative learning in honeybees. However, no effect on foraging-related behaviour was found. Therefore, we speculate that successful forager bees could become a source of constant inflow of nectar with GLY traces that could then be distributed among nestmates, stored in the hive and have long-term negative consequences on colony performance.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25063858

The significance is that this could be a factor in CCD. Emphasis mine.

A new study shows that glyphosate, the active ingredient in Monsanto's Roundup herbicide, can disrupt learning behaviors in honeybees and severely impair long-term colony performance.

Glyphosate is commonly used in conjunction with genetically modified organisms, or GMOs, which have been engineered in a lab to survive massive applications of the herbicide. The most common herbicide-tolerant GMOs grown in the United States include corn, soy, and alfalfa. GMOs were first allowed into the food chain in the late 1990s.

With the ability to blanket their fields in glyphosate, many US farmers have abandoned hand-weeding and controlled applications of the herbicide altogether. This has lead to a 527 million pound increase in the use of the chemical over the past decade.

Glyphosate's toxicity is compounded by its persistence in the environment. Many studies show that glyphosate remains, chemically unchanged in the environment, for periods of up to a year.

Recent research suggests that even when glyphosate binds to soil particles, it will cyclically "desorb" or lose its attraction to soil and become active again. A study by the US Geological Survey found glyphosate in nearly 70% of rivers and streams they tested in the Midwest.

The scientists who conducted the new study used field-realistic levels of glyphosate, similar to what honeybees may encounter on a farm growing GMOs. They found that learning behavior and short-term memory retention decreased significantly compared with the control groups.

And since bees don't die immediately when exposed to glyphosate, they bring the chemical back to the hive, where larvae come into contact with it.

This means new bees will likely have lower overall foraging rates, which could have long-term negative consequences on colony performance. In fact, it could lead to the disappearance of the colony altogether.

http://gmwatch.org/index.php/news/archive/2014/15710-new-study-shows-honeybees-harmed-by-herbicide-used-on-gmo-crops