Ed Straw

New Paper! Here I argue that the list of ingredients on the back of a pesticide should no longer be a secret. Secrecy isn't in farmer's or consumer's interests! I also take on the industry arguments defending the practice. 1/6 doi.org/10.1016/j.envs…

Wednesday at 4pm UK i'm giving a talk to Cornell CALS about bees and co-formulants. Hop on if you're free! cals.cornell.edu/threat-posed-i…

Check out this new pesticide and bee science primer! Designed to be an accessible guide to lingo and concepts in the field. Nice job @EdStrawBio and @DaraStanley!

@sarahorrwhat @DaraStanley Thanks!

@EdStrawBio @DaraStanley Wow! This is a fantastic resource for new research students. Thank you for sharing 🐝

ATTENTION ECOTOX PEOPLE: We wrote a primer on bee and pesticide science! Specifically written to be an accessible short guide for post / undergrads. It explains all the basic lingo and concepts in simple language. @DaraStanley doi.org/10.1111/1365-2…

Know about bees but want to learn about pesticides (or know someone who does)? Check out our introduction to bee and pesticide research just published in @JAppliedEcology! Led by @EdStrawBio during @ProtectsProject @ucdagfood @UCDEarth

New blog from me!! A step-by-step guide* on getting your science paper glued to the front of a pesticide company's door in a protest! (*ok not quite, but an interesting dissection of what SciComm on social media actually looks like). appliedecologistsblog.com/2024/12/04/sci…

@SScilley If you do think your bees are suffering from pesticides, you can report it to the gov here (hse.gov.uk/pesticides/red…) and they may send someone to investigate. You could also ask at a local beekeeping group if anyone could come visit the hives to see if there's anything to be done

@SScilley Lots of different pesticides can impact bee behavior in a myriad of ways. Rarely would you see multi-year impacts be driven by just 1 pesticide. Very possible declines have other causes also though, pesticides aren't always the problem.

@EdStrawBio Do you know of a pesticide that stops Honey bees from making Queens? My bees won’t swarm, and won’t make emergency Queens from splits. Down from 5strong boxes 3 years ago to one with an old Queen.

@tomerczaczkes If I get any funding I’ll drop you a message so we can compare notes?

@tomerczaczkes I was thinking of putting a microphone in there as a measure of activity. A vibration sensor would also be a good option. I’m planning this out for a grant application to build this system. Not actually clear on how I’ll make the weight robust to getting clogged up.

If you could stick a bunch of sensors into a bee colony placed out in farmlands, what would you want to measure? I've got temperature, humidity, colony weight and bee entry/exit down, but I imagine there are other metrics that'd be super interesting. Thoughts?

@WAJ_Webster @MerribekCouncil Good report btw. Interesting read

@WAJ_Webster @MerribekCouncil Yeah, I appreciate that council budgets are stressed and pesticides are cheap. But I’m ok with less weed control in towns/cities. Weeds in pavements vs pesticide contamination of dense urban areas is a good trade-off for me.

Banning pesticides in towns just makes sense. We can control weeds without them, and it’d make our civic spaces safer. Proud to support this initiative. theguardian.com/environment/ar…

@simonmaechling Insect-borne diseases aren't exactly a large problem in the UK. Infrastructure does need protecting, go ahead and spray motorway bridges. But in a city, alternative methods can be used. As in farming, if there's a viable alternative to chemical control, do that first.

@EdStrawBio Thanks. I was thinking about protecting infrastructure (eg bridges from collapse due to weed pressure) and also insect borne diseases. Both seem like good purposes to me. Do you agree?

@audlemagronpaul Given almost all glyphosate products contained an endocrine disruptor until 2016 (POEA), we should probably adopt the precautionary principle and say 'Maybe let's only spray this stuff where it's necessary' i.e. crops.

@EdStrawBio Safer how ? If the material used poses no risk ?

@simonmaechling Pesticides are inherently dangerous. They should only be used for good purposes i.e. making food. Spraying kerbs isn't a good enough purpose. Regardless of human exposure, spraying impermeable concrete causes waterway pollution. Alternatives exist, why no IPM requirement here?

@EdStrawBio I am undecided on this one. I would like to learn more. What would be your reasoning? How do humans get exposed to a herbicide sprayed on a road (just using this as an example)?

Fantastic project at UCD, great funding body, great project! Come join Darren in a project that'll build on some super exciting work we've been doing lately on bumblebee's response to pesticides.

Interested in #pollinators and #microbiota? We're looking for a PhD grad in microbiology and/or bioinformatics interested in applying for IRC Postdoc funding! Based in @UCDSBES and working with @NJBBrereton @julia_c_jones and @EdStrawBio research.ie/funding/goipd/… (1/3)

@simonmaechling doi.org/10.1289/EHP139…. PFAS coformulant paper. POEA was also used in EU pesticides until 2020ish. Only banned in glyphosate products in 2016.

@EdStrawBio Can you give me a concrete example? PFAS as co-formulant?

NEW PAPER: We report, for the first time, the scale of how many different pesticides are on sale in the UK and Ireland. Nearly 2,500 different pesticides are on sale in the UK, from 266 different active ingredients. With @DaraStanley doi.org/10.1016/j.dib.…