Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine pledges to ban neonicotinoid pesticides such as imidacloprid on lychees and longans for two years
To solve the recent problems of bee poisoning and the massive drop in honey production, the Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine held an expert meeting today, inviting industry operators, experts from district agricultural research and extension stations, and relevant scholars to discuss together. After several hours of agenda, a consensus was finally reached: following the example of the European Union, the use of three neonicotinoid pesticides - imidacloprid, clothianidin, and thiamethoxam - on lychee and longan crops will be temporarily suspended, and a two-year observation period will be set, in the hope of easing the plight of bees.
However, the Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine also stressed that this conclusion still needs to go through review by the pesticide advisory council and other bodies, so a meeting will be convened as soon as possible for discussion. If the attending committee members support it, the resolution will also be announced online as soon as possible.
Bee poisoning occurs repeatedly; three neonicotinoid pesticides banned on lychee and longan for two years
Among the problems faced by the bee industry in recent years, the first is the sharp decline in honey harvest. According to estimates by the Taiwan Beekeepers Association, this year's production is only 20 to 40 percent of last year's, and last year, because of cold damage, the harvest was already only 60 percent of the year before, so it can be said to be declining every year. Association Secretary-General Pan Jianming also pointed out that it was affected by abnormal weather, causing the main nectar-source plants, lychee and longan, to bloom poorly, and the flowering period was delayed by one month. Just when it was time to collect honey, rain knocked the flowers off.
On the other hand, bee poisoning has occurred repeatedly. In response, Huang Changchang, Director-General of the Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine, pointed out that after testing by the attending Miaoli District Agricultural Research and Extension Station, it was found that most bees died outside the hives, all due to acute pesticide poisoning, which differs from the chronic poisoning caused by imidacloprid. When it was originally resolved to extend neonicotinoid pesticides to lychee and longan, in addition to passing the resolution of the relevant units, there was also "an added note not to use them during the flowering period."
However, recently many farmers have protested, and it was also taken into consideration that the timing of frontline insecticide use may not be very correct. Therefore, respecting the result of the expert meeting, the Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine will adjust the three pesticides imidacloprid, clothianidin, and thiamethoxam toward a "temporary suspension of use."
Huang Changchang also said that this move is following the example of the European Union's temporary ban in 2013 on three main neonicotinoid insecticides. The current direction is to suspend use on lychee and longan for two years, giving the entire bee industry an observation period, and then make policy adjustments depending on future conditions. He further stressed that there are already four to five kinds of control drugs for the lychee stink bug, and with biological control such as the Anastatus japonicus wasp, it should be possible to meet the needs of fruit farmers. It is hoped that this move can achieve a win-win situation for beekeepers and fruit farmers.
Scholar: fipronil also causes chronic poisoning in bees
The attending scholar also revealed that, specifically speaking, they support the Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine's approach, because the use of imidacloprid indeed needs review. Although a unit had previously gone to poisoning sites to take samples for testing, the results may only have detected signs of acute poisoning and did not identify the symptoms of chronic toxicity caused by neonicotinoid pesticides. However, the scholar also stressed that most current bee poisoning is affected by pesticides such as fipronil, not caused by imidacloprid, because even a trace amount of fipronil can cause acute poisoning and death. It was completely banned last year, and now it is hoped that the overall problems of the bee industry can improve year by year.
In addition, the scholar also called on beekeepers to diversify the risk of honey collection and try not to concentrate all nectar sources on lychee and longan flowers, because the flowering periods of these two plants are inherently not very stable and are greatly affected by climate. It was suggested that beekeepers could collect more "multifloral honey" as a substitute, and at the same time inform consumers not to stubbornly insist on longan honey, because as long as it is pure honey, it is quite good honey.