Book #51 A Buzz in the Meadow

A Buzz in the Meadow by Dave Goulson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A Buzz in the Meadow is a captivating look at our natural world through the eyes of Dave Goulson, who I know better as the founder of the Bumblebee Conservation Trust, that august body, of which I am a member. In 2003 DG bought a derelict farm in the heart of rural France, together with 33 acres of surrounding meadow. Over the course of a decade he created a place for his beloved bumblebees to thrive along with myriad insects of every kind. A significant part of the book contains his own research, alongside that of other scientists, into the threat posed by the use of neonicotinoids as pesticides and their devastating affect on bee populations around the world, something that the giant, multi-national manufacturer of agrochemicals, Bayer, widely disputes. Only to be expected as they resolutely defend a US$4 billion market. Well, neonicotinoid pesticides do cause harm to bees and I urge everyone to read this book. It is inspiring and should encourage everyone to cherish what we have. It illustrates what wonders we stand to lose if we do not change our ways. Biodiversity matters, in all shapes and forms and DG's farm, Chez Nauche, is an island where nature can thrive; places like this though are too few and far between. A Buzz in the Meadow provides a real insight to our natural world and a call to arms for nature-lovers everywhere.

View all my reviews

Neonicotinoid impacts on birds

The catastrophic impact of neonicotinoid pesticides on bees has long been suspected but now it's becoming clear that they are hitting farmland bird populations too.

Neonicotinoids are the most widely used insecticides in the world. They are toxic to most arthropods and they are widely applied as seed dressings because they act systemically, protecting all parts of the crop. Like so many pesticides used in the past they can persist and accumulate in soils and leach into waterways.

As a result of many studies, both in the laboratory and in the field, there is a widespread view among entomologists that neonicotinoid use has - in combination with the loss of flower-rich meadows, disease and mite infestations - contributed to the decline of bee populations. They are much less toxic to vertebrates and until recently evidence of any impacts on birds has been merely suggestive. However, a recent paper by Caspar Hallmann and his colleagues published in Nature has shown that decreases in bird numbers in the Netherlands shown by the Dutch Common Breeding Bird Monitoring Scheme have been most rapid in areas with highest environmental concentrations of neonics.

Read the paper here