The selenium conundrum
OPINION: When Les Hailes was named third form dux at St Kevin's College in Oamaru in 1944 his parents were aghast.
ADD SELENIUM to the list of things bugging honey bees.
University of California Riverside entomologists say selenium, a nonmetal chemical element, can disrupt the foraging behavior and survival of honey bees.
Selenium in very low concentrations is necessary for the normal development of insects – and humans – but becomes toxic at only slightly higher concentrations when it replaces sulfur in amino acids.
John Trumble, a professor of entomology, and graduate student Kristen Hladun found bees foraged on flowering mustard and weedy radish plants regardless of selenium concentration, some of which were very high following fertigation with the mineral.
“Nature has not equipped bees to avoid selenium,” Trumble says. “Unless the rates of concentrations of selenium were extremely high in our experiments, the bees did not appear to respond to its presence.”
The researchers also found bees fed selenate in the lab were less responsive to sugar (as sucrose).
“The selenium interfered with their sucrose response,” Hladun says.
“Such bees would be less likely to recruit bees to forage because they wouldn’t be stimulated to communicate information about sucrose availability to the sister bees.”
Trumble and Hladun also found forager bees fed moderate selenium amounts over a few days died at younger ages.
Trumble says the consequences of bees’ inability to avoid selenium could be substantial, but stresses their research does not show that large losses of honey bees are currently occurring due to selenium, or that there is any relationship with Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD).
Field studies are needed to determine if honey bees collect enough selenium from contaminated plants to cause significant effects on learning, behavior and adult or larval survival.
With USDA funding the researchers are to investigate influence other elements, such as cadmium and lead, which have been found in urban honeybee hives.
New Zealand dairy processors are welcoming the Government’s commitment to continuing to push for Canada to honour its trade commitments.
An educational programme, set up by Beef + Land New Zealand, to connect farmers virtually with primary and intermediate school students has reported the successful completion of its second year.
The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) has welcomed a resolution adopted by the United Nations (UN) General Assembly to declare 2026 International Year of the Woman Farmer.
Waikato herd health veterinarian Katrina Roberts is the 2024 Fonterra Dairy Woman of the Year.
Trade Minister Todd McClay says New Zealand has no intention of backing down in a trade dispute with Canada over dairy products.
Horticulture NZ chief executive Nadine Tunley will step down in August.
OPINION: The new government has clearly signalled big cuts across the public service.
OPINION: Your canine crusader is not surprised by the recent news that New Zealand plant-based ‘fake meat’ business is in…