Controversy Deepens Over Pesticides and Bee Collapse
IN THE winter of 2006 beekeepers in America noticed something odd--lots of their hives were dying for no obvious reason. As the months passed, reports of similar phenomena began coming in from their European counterparts. Mystified scientists coined the label "colony collapse disorder" (CCD) to describe what was happening. Since then, much brow-sweat has been expended trying to work out just what CCD really is.Dying bees are a problem, and not just for apiarists. Bees pollinate many of the world's crops--a service estimated to be worth $15 billion a year in America alone. And there is no shortage of theories to explain the insects' decline. Climate change, habitat destruction, a paralysing virus, fungal infection and even a plague of parasitic mites have all been proposed. But one of the leading ideas is that the bees are suffering from the effects of neonicotinoids, a class of commonly used pesticides, introduced in the 1990s, which are toxic to insects but much less so to mammals.Two papers published this w
Controversy Deepens Over Pesticides and Bee Collapse
A controversial new study of honeybee deaths has deepened a bitter dispute over whether the developed world's most popular pesticides are causing an ecological catastrophe.
Fri 6 Apr 12 from Wired Science
New pesticide link to sudden decline in bee population
A commonly used nerve-agent pesticide is the likely culprit in sharp worldwide declines in honey bee colonies in the last five years, a scientific study claimed yesterday.
Thu 5 Apr 12 from The Independent
Use of imidacloprid - common pesticide - linked to bee colony collapse
The likely culprit in sharp worldwide declines in honeybee colonies since 2006 is imidacloprid, one of the most widely used pesticides, according to a new study from Harvard School of Public ...
Thu 5 Apr 12 from Phys.org
Honeybees Self-Medicate with Anti-Fungal Resin
Mon 2 Apr 12 from Discover Magazine
Yes, Insecticides Kill Bees. Studies ID Chemical That May Contribute to Colony Collapse, Thu 29 Mar 12 from Discover Magazine
Yes, Insecticides Kill Bees. Studies ID Chemical That May Contribute to Colony Collapse, Thu 29 Mar 12 from Discover Magazine
Bees and insecticides: Subtle poison
IN THE winter of 2006 beekeepers in America noticed something odd--lots of their hives were dying for no obvious reason. As the months passed, reports of similar phenomena began coming in from ...
Thu 29 Mar 12 from The Economist
New pesticides linked to bee population collapse
Worldwide declines in bee colonies, threatening much of global agriculture, may be caused by a new generation of nerve-agent pesticides, two new scientific studies strongly suggest. The findings ...
Thu 29 Mar 12 from The Independent
Pesticide-dosed bees lose future royalty, way home
Low doses of insecticides can lead to fewer queens, shrinking colonies
Thu 29 Mar 12 from ScienceNews
Controversial Pesticide Linked to Bee Collapse
A controversial type of pesticide linked to declining global bee populations appears to scramble bees' sense of direction, making it hard for them to find home. Starved of foragers and the pollen ...
Thu 29 Mar 12 from Wired Science
Bookmark
