Here are the materials provided by the television and radio

TV Biznes

TVP Agrobiznes 2nd of April 2009

TVP Tydzień 11th of January 2009

TVP Kraków 10th of January 2009

Program 3 Polskiego Radia 18th of December 2008

---

It may turn out in April that the number of bee families in Poland has decreased by half. An then? Taking into account the fact that the world's food production depends in 75% on the condition of the beekeeping sector, it seems unreasonable to argue with Albert Einstein who frequently repeated that if the bees were to disappear, the human kind would soon follow.

And everything started very harmlessly just before the end of last year. From various part of the country - even those most ecologically clean - began to flow information about mass dying of bees.

The insects flew out away from the hives, lost orientation and never came back.  This was especially odd because, as beekeepers say, bees are as loyal as dogs and they always find their way home.

Paweł Chorbinski from the University of Nature in Wroclaw said " Our latest information can indicate that there is a possibility of a tremendous bees loss this year, even up to 60%."

Similar situation was observed in France and Germany. They were also plagued by mass dying our of bees. The investigation for a large scale started and it led to the conclusion that the main culprit is imidakloprid. It is the component of, among others, seed dressing for sugar beetroot protection. On our there are products that include this deadly substance. In France and Germany, the actions were taken immediately. The prepartions were withdrawn and the beekeepers were given suitable compensation. In Poland, however, the situation is not yet under control.

Robert Kolasinski from the honey processing plant in Walce fears that there is a chance of permeating of the deadly substance to the sugar, however the standards are much higher for humans and that is why the tests do not indicate it. He anticiptes that the next tests will prove his suspicions. 

But as for now it is almost impossible to  be sure. Apeals made by the Polish Beekeeping Association remains without response. In the meantime bees become weaker and weaker, in particular those fed with sugar.

Dr Reiner Schechter, who is the chairman of  Sud Zucker Poland, said "It is beyond my understanding how sugar can cause this. We have not changed anything in the technology of sugar production and sugar beetroot cultivation for 10 years."

It appears that Polish beekeepers are left to themselves with no support. And imidakloprid continues to poison as it takes 3 years to dissolve in soil.