mud wasps and spiders

A female mud wasp (Sceliphron caementarium) builds and stocks her nest.

 Mud wasps are mostly spider predators and are not aggressive to people unless stepped on or handled. Photos and vid clips by C.J.W. Vos

bees, pesticides and food security

" ...These chemicals are nerve poisons that are toxic even at very low doses 

and persist in plants and the environment. They affect the information-processing abilities 

of invertebrates, including some of our most important pollinators...

The evidence is very clear. We are witnessing a threat to the productivity of our 

natural and farmed environment equivalent to that posed by organophosphates or DDT. 

Far from protecting food production the use of neonics is threatening the very 

infrastructure which enables it, imperilling the pollinators, habitat engineers 

and natural pest controllers at the heart of a functioning ecosystem... ”

(from: The David Suzuki Foundation, February13,2015)
 No matter how you feel about Ontario’s proposal to restrict use of neonicotinoid insecticides on corn and soybean crops, we can all agree: bees matter. But as important as bees are, there’s more at stake. Neonics are poisoning our soil and water. This problematic class of pesticides needs to be phased out globally to protect Earth’s ecosystems. By implementing restrictions now (the first in North America), Ontario will have a head start in the transition to safer alternatives.

Not surprisingly, Ontario’s proposal has drawn the ire of the pesticide industry.

Neonics have only been around for a couple of decades, but annual global sales now top $2.6 billion. They were initially embraced because they are less directly toxic to humans than older pesticides and are effective at low levels, reducing the volume used. They can be applied to seeds and are absorbed into the plant, which then becomes toxic to insect pests, reducing the need to spray.

We now know these characteristics are the problem. These chemicals are nerve poisons that are toxic even at very low doses and persist in plants and the environment. They affect the information-processing abilities of invertebrates, including some of our most important pollinators.

Bees have borne the brunt of our unfortunate, uncontrolled experiment with neonics. Beekeepers report unusually high bee death rates in recent years, particularly in corn-growing areas of Ontario and Quebec. Virtually all corn and about 60 per cent of soybean seeds planted in Ontario are treated with neonics. A federal Pest Management Regulatory Agency investigation concluded that planting neonic-treated seeds contributed to the bee die-offs.

Europe reached a similar conclusion and placed a moratorium on the use of neonics on bee-attractive crops, which took effect last year.

Critics emphasize that other factors — including climate change, habitat loss and disease — affect pollinator health. But these factors are not entirely independent; for example, chronic exposure to neonics may increase vulnerability to disease. A comprehensive pollinator health action plan should address all these factors, and scaling back the use of neonics is a good place to start.

Apart from the immediate and lethal effects on bees, neonics represent a more subtle threat to a wide range of species. The 2014 Worldwide Integrated Assessment of the Impacts of Systemic Pesticides, the most comprehensive review of the scientific literature on neonics, pointed to effects on smell and memory, reproduction, feeding behaviour, flight and ability to fight disease. Jean‐Marc Bonmatin, one of the lead authors, summarized the conclusions: “The evidence is very clear. We are witnessing a threat to the productivity of our natural and farmed environment equivalent to that posed by organophosphates or DDT. Far from protecting food production the use of neonics is threatening the very infrastructure which enables it, imperilling the pollinators, habitat engineers and natural pest controllers at the heart of a functioning ecosystem.”
 pesticides
Is there some uncertainty involved in calculating these risks? Absolutely. Uncertainty is at the heart of scientific inquiry. The precautionary principle requires that where there is threat of serious or irreversible harm to human health or the environment, the absence of complete scientific certainty or consensus must not be used as an excuse to delay action. In the case of neonics, the weight of evidence clearly supports precautionary action to reduce — or even eliminate — them.

Ontario’s proposal to restrict the use of neonic-treated corn and soybean seed, starting next year, is far from radical. The idea is to move away from routinely planting neonic-treated seeds and use neonics only in situations where crops are highly vulnerable to targeted pests. The government expects this will reduce the uses of neonic-treated corn and soybean seed by 80 per cent by 2017.

It’s no surprise that the pesticide industry and its associates oppose even this modest proposal and are running expensive PR campaigns to obscure the evidence of harm. The industry’s objection to restrictions on neonics is eerily similar to big-budget advertising campaigns to create a smokescreen thick enough to delay regulatory responses to the obvious harm caused by cigarettes.

Let’s hope today’s decision-makers have a better grasp of the precautionary principle and a stronger commitment to protecting the public good, because bees really do matter.

Written with contributions from David Suzuki Foundation Ontario and Northern Canada Director-General Faisal Moola. Support the David Suzuki Foundation

guardians of the garden: ladybugs

^^Ladybug (Coccinellidae sp.)

 
^^two larva and a pupa (centre)

^^Notice that the female is happily munching on an aphid while mating.

^^larva

nest art 3

^^inactive bald face hornet (Dolichovespula maculata) nest in shrub

 

^^nest are only used for a year. Baldfaced hornets are present throughout most of Canada and the US except for the American Midwest. Except for newly mated females, the entire colony dies each winter. A possible exception maybe in the American deep south where colonies may overwinter. 

^^Adults feed on flower nectar, ripe fruit, carrion and insects, including other wasp species.

Check out BugGuide for more wasp info

thanks to Matteo's Gelato for the use of their patio to take these nest shots

garden help

Ladybug!  Ladybug!
Fly away home.

Your house is on fire.

And your children all gone...

larva of the Japanese Ladybug (Harmonia axyridis) 

check out BugGuide for more ladybugs

 ^^despite their scary looks, ladybugs are voracious aphid predators and a friend to gardeners.

 ^^yellowjacket (Vespula sp.)

 ^^while not very popular, yellowjackets are helpful garden predators

^^visit  What's that Bug?  for lots of great wasp info and photos

newly introduced

 ^^Thanks to WhatsThatBug for the identification of this Ennomos species.

^^Ennomos alniaria aka Canary-shouldered Thorn Moth

 

^^the Canary-Shouldered Thorn Moth is a newly introduced species (~2006) from 

the UK and Europe now found in two areas of British Columbia. 

This one was photographed in Port Coquitlam on August 16, 2007

caddisfly

^^caddisfly

^^What's That Bug? says: "Though it is mothlike, this insect is actually a Caddisfly in the order Trichoptera.  Caddisflies have aquatic larvae that carry cases about with them earning them the common name of Caseworm."

aliens

The folks at What's that Bug? identified this as a stink bug nymph.

wet pet's guest

neighbours

wasps