Why is quango poisoning our precious bees?

Pesticide to be used on 300 acres

THEY are vital for our countryside as they bustle from flower to flower pollinating our crops.

But Scotland’s declining honeybee population is under threat from plans to cover forests in a toxic pesticide – despite Ministers committing to conservation efforts.

State-funded quango Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS) has bought enough Acetamiprid – an insecticide banned in France – to cover nearly 300 acres of countryside.

It is using the chemical, which is dissolved in water and sprayed on plants, to ward off insects such as aphids and whitefly.

But conservation experts have warned it could also kill off honeybees, which are already in decline.

They say a tiny amount of the poison, which is derived from nicotine, is enough to kill one bee. Yet FLS has spent £7,255 on Acetamiprid – enough to buy 60lb – according to tender documents.

Ministers have previously committed to bee conservation, including setting up an annual Bee Health Awareness Day and housing 11 hives at the Scottish parliament.

Bee conservation expert Professor Dave Goulson, of Sussex University,

said: ‘We’re talking about a billionth of a gram being enough to kill a honeybee. If [the Government] wants to sell itself as being a bee-friendly administration, finding ways to reduce pesticide use should be part of the strategy.’

Scottish Tory rural affairs spokesman Rachael Hamilton said: ‘Scotland is meant to be serious about bee conservation. This arrangement, involving an SNP quango, seems to contradict that approach.’

Trefor Owen, FLS director of land management, said: ‘All pesticides are thoroughly assessed.

‘The chemical is used to tackle the Hylobius weevil, which is probably the most serious pest of newly planted trees on restocking sites and costs the UK £5 million in damage each year.’