Pesticide Banned in France

Translated Bees Yes Cruiser No

     Today the French Ministry of Agriculture voted to ban the pesticide Cruiser because it is suspected of being harmful to bees.  The neonicotinoid Thiametoxam is one of the three active ingredients in Cruiser and is used primarily in the treatment of rapeseed.  Rapeseed (Brassica Napus) is grown mainly for it's oil rich seed which is the third largest source of vegetable oil in the world and is a major crop for many countries.  There are two types of rapeseed (from the Latin for turnip "rapaor", "rapum") oil which are industrial rapeseed oil used to produce lubricants or fuel and food grade oil from Canola.  Beekeepers know that bees are especially attracted to blossoms of plants in the Brassica family like Kale.

My bees spend much of the spring foraging in the flowering Kale

     The reason for the ban of Thiametoxam is the risk it poses to bee health.  Agriculture Minister Bruno Le Maire stated  "a behavioral study of foraging bees exposed to plant protection substance", highlighting "a detrimental effect of a sublethal dose of thiamethoxam on return to the hive bee foragers. "  They are asking the European Food Safety Authority to reconsider their approval of the pesticide Cruiser.