I know I have been cranky and inconsolable lately. I just get that way some times. Just to let those who care know:
I am not about to stop watching the politics, and I am voting this election season, a straight Democratic Ticket for the sake of our humanity. However, given the general madness that has descended upon the planet, more so than usual, I needed a bit of a break. It finally cooled off here in Oklahoma, and we received some rain. Not as much rain as we need, but some is better than none.
On good days, the madness seems to me to take on the shape of a Monty Python type skit. Just random silliness that mocks a working government or community. Other days, it feels like Hunter S. Thompson is holding the pitchfork and directing the proverbial traffic. On those days the ridiculousness is no less silly, but it takes on a surreal, dark tone that brings me to a mind of alternate realities and quantum improbabilities one might find at the bottom of an acid test.
But today, I have some good news in spite of the madness. Something that provides an excellent counterpoint to all the bad news floating around in the world currently.
Conservationists in the U.S. have decided to build artificial caves for bats, to try and stem the spread and severity of White Nose Syndrome. And After reading a bit about it, I think it looks like a worthy experiment. In fact, I hope it's wildly successful! This was created by the Nature Conservancy and it will cost about 300,000 $.
The artificial cave is placed near a natural cave with an established hibernation population of gray bats. The plan is to coax some of them to the new digs by emitting ultra-sonic bat calls on loudspeakers.CBS
I wonder if this was in part inspired by the Toad Tunnels in Britain?
Scientists have observed that although they cannot keep the fungus from getting into the artificial cave, because bats will carry it in there on their bodies. They discovered that fungal load in the natural caves, increases the second year and the "spikes" in the third year after the fungus is introduced. So the plan is that the artificial cave can be cleaned in order to keep that fungal load down to a low roar. If you have forgotten what WNS is, or just don't know at all, you can read more about it here.
The project was built on land the conservancy bought and then deeded to the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency. It is near the Tennessee-Kentucky border, just south of the Fort Campbell U.S. Army post. CBS
Wouldn't it be something if it worked. It could buy the bats some more time to adapt to this pathogen. And then we could return to a relatively, bat-infested paradise such as depicted in this historical re-enactment of a time, when America's wild places were "pristine," and our citizens truly appreciated all she had to offer.
I saw another bat just earlier this week. That makes three this entire season, since spring started. I truly long for the days, when there were so many of them, that I felt the need for a metal fly swatter, and protective eye gear.
In addition to this good news, I have a gentle reminder for interested readers. We still have time to offer a comment on NeoNicotinoid pesticides to the EPA. If you don't remember what that is about, watch this video from the Colbert Report on Pollination.
And check out this page from Beyond Pesticides to read more.
The EPA ignored the people, when they received 1.26 million signatures requesting that NeoNicotinoids be banned for use in the United States. Members of the public can submit their commentary to the EPA on this matter until September 25, 2012. More information is available at Beyond Pesticides.
A January 2012 Purdue University study reveals that honey bees are exposed to clothianidin through dust that is expelled from mechanical planters containing coated seeds.
An April 2012 study out of France shows that when exposed to sublethal doses of thiamethoxam, honey bees’ foraging and feeding behavior were significantly degraded.
A study released in May 2012 by the University of California at San Diego finds that small doses of imidacloprid depress honey bees’ ability to communicate and effectively feed the colony Beyond Pesticides
This is in addition to research from the University of Stirling, as well as a long and damning history pointing back to this chemical, globally with regards to mass bee die offs.
In one study, Penelope Whitehorn of the University of Stirling in Stirling, U.K. and colleagues exposed developing colonies of bumblebees, Bombus terrestris, to low levels of a neonicotinoid called imidacloprid, found in brand names pesticides such as Gaucho, Prestige, Admire, and Marathon. The doses were comparable to what the bees are often exposed to in the wild.Science Daily
Another Study from the University of Padova in Italy linked this to seeds coated with Neonicotinoids and talc.
Findings confirmed by Purdue University.
Krupke and Hunt received reports that bee deaths in 2010 and 2011 were occurring at planting time in hives near agricultural fields. Toxicological screenings performed by Brian Eitzer, a co-author of the study from the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, for an array of pesticides showed that the neonicotinoids used to treat corn and soybean seed were present in each sample of affected bees. Krupke said other bees at those hives exhibited tremors, uncoordinated movement and convulsions, all signs of insecticide poisoning.
Seeds of most annual crops are coated in neonicotinoid insecticides for protection after planting. All corn seed and about half of all soybean seed is treated. The coatings are sticky, and in order to keep seeds flowing freely in the vacuum systems used in planters, they are mixed with talc. Excess talc used in the process is released during planting and routine planter cleaning procedures. Science Daily.
Which is also supported by the findings from Harvard.
Lu and his co-authors hypothesized that the uptick in CCD resulted from the presence of imidacloprid, a neonicotinoid introduced in the early 1990s. Bees can be exposed in two ways: through nectar from plants or through high-fructose corn syrup beekeepers use to feed their bees. (Since most U.S.-grown corn has been treated with imidacloprid, it's also found in corn syrup.) Science Daily.
You can also read material at PANNA.org: Beekeepers call for Immediate Ban on CCD Linked Pesticides.
According to Dr. James Frazier, professor of entomology at Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences, "Among the neonicotinoids, clothianidin is among those most toxic for honey bees; and this combined with its systemic movement in plants has produced a troubling mix of scientific results pointing to its potential risk for honey bees through current agricultural practices. Our own research indicates that systemic pesticides occur in pollen and nectar in much greater quantities than has been previously thought, and that interactions among pesticides occurs often and should be of wide concern." Professor Frazier said that the most prudent course of action would be to take the pesticide off the market while the flawed study is being redone. Panna.org
Beekeepers, Honeybees, Bumblebees, all pollinators need your help to turn this situation around. We got some potential good news for the bats, hopefully we can throw a bone to the bees as well. Our pollinators cannot escape chemicals that are exuded through the flowers as pollen and nectar.
Interested readers might find the Dan Rather Bee Aware report informative.
You can make your comment regarding NeoNicotinoids to the EPA at this link. I hope that if you know other interested parties, that you copy this link and spread the word. Our honey bees need a little help. All of our pollinators need a little help.