colony collapse disorder
Lingering and drifting pesticides are threat to honeybees
Cornell University says its researchers found that honeybees, used to pollinate orchard and fruit crops, "encounter danger due to lingering and wandering pesticides, according to an analysis of the bee's own food," called beebread and made form pollen. In the study, based on 120 colonies placed near 30 apple orchards in New York State, the beebread in 17 percent of the colonies showed the presence of acutely high levels of pesticide exposure after several days of foraging by the bees while apple trees were in flower.
Europe considers total ban on anti-bee insecticides
The European Commission is considering draft regulations to ban the mostly widely used insecticides in fields across Europe in order to protect bees, according to documents obtained by The Guardian via the Pesticide Action Network Europe. A vote is expected this May; if passed the ban could take effect within months.
First bumblebee in U.S. lands on endangered-species list
The Obama administration has granted endangered-species protection to the rusty-patched bumblebee — the first bumblebee in the United States, and the first bee of any kind in the lower 48 states to get the designation, says The New York Times. Seven other bees are listed, but they are all from Hawaii.
General Mills invests in bees
General Mills is teaming up with the Xerces Society, a wildlife conservation nonprofit, to help save pollinators, says The Guardian. The food manufacturer, which has contributed $4 million to other pollinator conservation projects since 2011,says it will give $2 million to the Xerces-led program to make 100,000 acres of North American farmland pollinator-friendly over the next five years.
Project aims to help pollinators and people on the U.S.-Mexico border
Along the Arizona-Mexico border, conservationists are restoring habitat for more than 900 species of wild pollinators in an unprecedented effort that's also designed to create jobs and reduce poverty, reports Alexis Marie Adams in FERN’s latest story, co-produced with Scientific American.
Pesticide companies tried to keep their honeybee studies secret
Pesticide manufacturers Syngenta and Bayer appear to have secreted away studies that showed their pesticides did serious harm to honeybees, rather than revealing the results to the public. After Greenpeace obtained the studies from the EPA through the Freedom of Information Act, scientists are calling on the two companies to operate with more transparency, says The Guardian.
Study: Neonics cause queen bees to lay fewer eggs
Queen honeybees fed syrup laced with the pesticide imidacloprid laid significantly fewer eggs—between a third and two-thirds as many—than unexposed bees, according to a report in EurekAlert on a new study published in the journal Science Reports.
To help honeybees, Minnesota limits use of neonics
Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton issued an executive order limiting the use of neonicotinoid pesticides to a demonstrated need by farmers to prevent economic losses to their crops, says Minnesota Public Radio. The pesticides are believed to be a factor in steep declines in bee populations, along with parasites, disease, poor nutrition and bad weather.
Home garden plants have fewer neonics
The level of neonicotinoid pesticides found on plants sold by large retailers to gardeners dropped to 23 percent this spring, according to a survey that looked at garden plants in 14 U.S. cities. In 2013 and 2014, neonicotinoid residue was found on more than half of the samples taken. Some experts blame the class of pesticides for Colony Collapse Disorder and other detrimental effects on pollinators.
President Hollande chose his ex-wife over his best friend in French glyphosate vote
Earlier this year, when France voted to not extend glyphosate’s EU license for 18 months, the decision was personal for President François Hollande, says Politico EU. Hollande essentially had to choose between siding with his best friend in government, Agriculture Minister Stéphane Le Foll, and the mother of his four children, Energy and Environment Minister Ségolène Royal.
Study finds new threat to honeybees
Pesticides applied to honeybee hives to kill Varroa mites and other parasites may actually be hurting the bees by damaging bacteria in their guts, according to a study published in the journal Frontiers in Microbiology.
Study: Neonics an ‘inadvertent contraceptive for bees’
New research suggests that neonicotinoids, a leading culprit in the ongoing decimation of honeybee populations, may also be snuffing out the next generation of bees by cutting the quantity and viability of sperm in male bees by nearly 40 percent, writes The Guardian.
Mild winters spiked swarming honey bees across Midwest
After a mild winter, with temperatures that rarely fell below 18 F, the Midwest witnessed an increase in springtime bee swarms — a phenomena in which hives become too large, causing some to break off in search of a new queen. That just might be a positive sign for pollinators in the region after years of sharp declines, beekeepers say.
Honeybee colonies heavily affected by Varroa mites
During spring and summer, four of 10 honeybee colonies will be under stress from Varroa mites, beekeepers said in the first issue of USDA's Honey Bee Colonies report. By far, the parasitic insects are a greater problem than other pests, diseases, pesticides, bad weather and poor nutrition, according to the survey of beekeepers.
Honeybee colony losses highest since 2013
Beekeepers across the United States lost 44 percent of their honeybee colonies in the past year, nearly as bad as losses sustained in 2012-13, according to a survey by researchers. Losses were more than twice the economically acceptable rate for owners of the pollinators that add an estimated $15 billion to U.S. agriculture through higher yields.
Varroa mite more prevalent than thought among honeybees
A five-year survey of parasites and diseases affecting honeybee colonies found the varroa mite, regarded as a major factor in population declines, "is far more abundant than previous estimates indicated and is closely linked to several damaging viruses," says Feedstuffs.
Scotts to remove ‘neonics’ from some insecticides
The world's largest manufacturer of lawn and garden care products, Scotts Miracle-Gro, said it will "immediately begin to transition away from the use of neonicotinoid-based pesticides for outdoor use" sold under the Ortho brand name.
EPA allows emergency use of pesticide that may harm honeybees
Last November, the EPA cancelled the registration of the pesticide sulfoxaflor, a step required by a U.S. appeals court decision. However, the agency has now granted an emergency exemption sought by the Texas Department of Agriculture for use of sulfoxaflor this year against the sugarcane aphid on up to 3 million acres of sorghum, said Agri-Pulse.
Neonics, already in the regulatory crosshairs, now suspected of harming mammals, birds and fish
Scores of studies have established that neonicotinoids, the most widely used pesticides in the world, are contributing to the steady decline of bees and other insects across North America and Europe. Now evidence is growing that these compounds, tailored to take out invertebrates, can also harm mammals, birds, and fish, as Elizabeth Royte explains in FERN's latest story, published with National Geographic.<strong>(No paywall)</strong>