Exposure even to low levels of imidacloprid, a widely used pesticide, can harm the central nervous system of bees and may be a reason behind the global bee colony collapse, a National Taiwan University research team said yesterday in Taipei.
Reports from around the world in recent years have shown that the population of wild bees has rapidly declined in many parts of the world. As bees contribute to the pollination of many crop species, ensuring production of seeds in many flowering plants and playing an important role in the ecosystem, many scientists are concerned about the rapid decline in bee colonies.
The university formed an interdisciplinary research team in 2008 to study whether the collapse was caused by the prevalent use of pesticides. A special method that the team developed — putting a tattoo on experimental bees — was applied to track the bees and observe the effects of insecticides on them.
National Taiwan University entomology professor Yang En-cheng (楊恩誠) said researchers discovered that imidacloprid — an insecticide belonging to a class of chemicals called the neonicotinoids — can cause worker bees to lose their way back to their hives.
“Normally, worker bees fly back to their hives when they have suck enough nectar, but when they consume up to about 50ppb [parts per billion] of imidacloprid, they stay on the flower, rubbing their eyes. We can see that they are uncomfortable, and they don’t fly back immediately,” Yang said.
Moreover, the team observed that even exposure to low levels — or just 10ppb — of imidacloprid can cause harm to bee larvae, depriving them of their ability to form and retain memories as they grow, thus contributing to the decline of the bee population.
The use of imidacloprid on certain crops was banned by the EU last year, but it is still widely used in Taiwan, Yang said.
While Taiwan earns about NT$2.3 billion (US$76 million) from honey each year, the government should evaluate whether it should limit the use of imidacloprid and other neonicotinoids, he said.
Considering that most countries issue more than five denominations of banknotes, the central bank has decided to redesign all five denominations, the bank said as it prepares for the first major overhaul of the banknotes in more than 24 years. Central bank Governor Yang Chin-lung (楊金龍) is expected to report to the Legislative Yuan today on the bank’s operations and the redesign’s progress. The bank in a report sent to the legislature ahead of today’s meeting said it had commissioned a survey on the public’s preferences. Survey results showed that NT$100 and NT$1,000 banknotes are the most commonly used, while NT$200 and NT$2,000
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday reported the first case of a new COVID-19 subvariant — BA.3.2 — in a 10-year-old Singaporean girl who had a fever upon arrival in Taiwan and tested positive for the disease. The girl left Taiwan on March 20 and the case did not have a direct impact on the local community, it said. The WHO added the BA.3.2 strain to its list of Variants Under Monitoring in December last year, but this was the first imported case of the COVID-19 variant in Taiwan, CDC Deputy Director-General Lin Ming-cheng (林明誠) said. The girl arrived in Taiwan on
ANNUAL EVENT: Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in Daan Park, with an event zone operating from 10am to 6pm This year’s Taipei Floral Picnic is to be held at Daan Park today and tomorrow, featuring an exclusive Pokemon Go event, a themed food market, a coffee rave picnic area and stage performances, the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism said yesterday. Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in the park as attractions, with an exclusive event zone operating from 10am to 6pm, it said. Participants who complete designated tasks on-site would have a chance to receive limited-edition souvenirs, it added. People could also try the newly launched game Pokemon Pokopia in the trial area, the department said. Three PokeStops are
South Korea is planning to revise its controversial electronic arrival card, a step Taiwanese officials said prompted them to hold off on planned retaliatory measures, a South Korean media report said yesterday. A Yonhap News Agency report said that the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs is planning to remove the “previous departure place” and “next destination” fields from its e-arrival card system. The plan, reached after interagency consultations, is under review and aims to simplify entry procedures and align the electronic form with the paper version, a South Korean ministry official said. The fields — which appeared only on the electronic form
RSS