Bees

Countess of Mar Excerpts

Tuesday 30th July 2013 Lords Chamber

[Lord De Mauley]

My Lords, we certainly are aware of the work that has been done in Australia. In fact, my right honourable friend the Secretary of State went there recently and is certainly aware of it. We used that in making our case prior to the vote. That did not seem to work, so we are now working towards doing our own trials to fill out those evidence gaps.

[The Countess of Mar]

My Lords, there is some evidence that bees can tolerate neonicotinoids. However, when combined with glyphosate, which is in the ubiquitous Roundup, their immune systems become affected. That is one of the reasons why they cannot withstand the varroa bug. Can the Minister say how much research is being done on combinations of pesticides and the way they affect bees, particularly their immune systems?

[Lord De Mauley]

The noble Baroness makes a point which has concerned a number of people. Considerable work has been done, which shows that chemicals with different toxic actions normally act independently. Chemicals with the same toxic action normally act additively. There is only limited evidence for combination effects in excess of those for individual chemicals.