More evidence has emerged linking a pesticide widely used in Malta to global declines in pollinator populations.
Neonicotinoids, a class of pesticides already commonly associated with declines in honeybees, were found to be linked to dips in butterfly species in California, in research published last month by scientists from the University of Nevada.
The decline in the number of species at each site corresponded most closely to increased neonicotinoid use in the area. Individual butterfly species in areas with higher pesticide use experienced the steepest declines.
Meanwhile, researchers at the University of York tracked 62 wild bee species across the UK and found that, within species, a population’s odds of going extinct increased with use of the pesticides.
In Malta, environmentalists have for years highlighted the problem of declining numbers of bees, butterflies and other pollinators, and the new studies raise fears that neonicotinoids may bear part of the blame.
Environmentalists in Malta have for years highlighted the problem of declining numbers of bees, butterflies and other pollinators
“Unrestrained and uncontrolled pesticide spraying is one of the biggest problems facing pollinators, and it would not surprise me to find that neonicotinoids are a part of that,” former environment directorate assistant director Alfred Baldacchino told the Times of Malta.
“Winds carry pesticides over into neighbouring fields, so pollinators are suffering even when landing on plants that were not intended to be sprayed.”
Several once-common butterfly species, he added, had dwindled to a fraction of their former populations or disappeared entirely, with only migratory species remaining in relatively large numbers. According to the Malta Competition and Consumer Affairs Authority, the national pesticide regulator, neonicotinoids are mostly used in agriculture, but a few can also be found in biocides.
“These are currently in the EU biocidal active substances review programme,” a spokeswoman said.
“Depending on the outcome of the review, the products on the market will have to go through an authorisation procedure and be authorised according to any applicable restrictions.”