Bumblebees are one of our favourite insects to spot while in the garden, our son has loved watching them since he could crawl. Bumblebees are provide ecological services to us all by pollinating crops, wildflowers and our garden. And, they are quite simple a joy to watch!
It's sad news to hear that the government have made a u-turn on their recent pledges to help nature; by allowing emergency use (for 2021) of the bee killing neonic, thiamethoxam, on sugar-beet crops to combat a virus which reduces crop productivity.
Emergency use might seem ok on the surface but it allows the use of this deadly chemical to be applied using a seed-dressing method, which has been noted to target just 5% of the desired seed.
Furthermore, conditions which I assume are seemingly meant to benefit biodiversity, do the exact opposite. The strict conditions, of the emergency use, states that "no flowering crop is to be planted within 22 months of the sugar beet crop, and no oilseed rape crop is to be planted within 32 months. Industry-recommended herbicide programmes will be followed to limit flowering weeds in and around sugar beet crops"*. This means that bees and other pollinators won't suffer solely from contact with the pesticide, they won't be able to benefit from subsequent flowering crops or the nectar rich wildflowers (weeds) which would grow between the sugar beet crop rows.
For more information and to join a petition letter asking the Prime Minister to overturn its recent decision head over to The Wildlife Trusts site: https://action.wildlifetrusts.org/page/74049/data/1
It takes a few minutes to read and sign and send an email to your local MP, I have.
Also, you can read the government decision statement at the link below. It didn't help settle my concerns!