UK: Neonic residues found in garden centre plants
The discovery comes from the first study of pesticide residues in garden plants. Scientists tested 29 different “bee friendly” plants bought from stores such as B&Q, Homebase and Aldi in the UK. Most had the RHS “Perfect Pollinator Logo” and most contained so-called neonicotinoid pesticides (neonics).
“Seventy per cent of them had neonicotinoids, the group of insecticides linked to bee declines, including those banned in Europe for flowering crops,” said Prof Dave Goulson, a bee biologist at the University of Sussex, who led the study, which appears in the journal Environmental Pollution.
“It’s a worrying finding. The concentrations are within the range previously shown to cause harm to bees,” said Dr Jane Stout, biologist and bee expert at Trinity College Dublin. The chemicals could also harm beneficial insects such as ladybirds, she added.
The scientists tested flowers such as dahlia, lavender, catmint, salvia, strawberry, crocus and wallflower. They analysed leaves, pollen and nectar for insecticides and fungicides.
Twenty-three of 29 plants contained more than one pesticide; just two plants had none. A heather plant contained 10 different pesticides.
Read more at The Irish Times