Environmentalists, health care professionals and food lovers everywhere will be celebrating the European Union’s (EU) decision for an almost complete ban of neonicotinoid (called neonics) pesticides across member states in Europe. The EU had previously restricted use of three neonics from use in 2013, but today’s new ban is more extensive, now completely banning any […]
Tag: bee
De-extinction Versus Wildlife Conservation
How possible is de-extinction anyway? Due to how degraded and incomplete most samples of DNA are it would seem to a take a long time to amass enough DNA to complete a full genetic sequence for an animal genome (the genetic data found in gamete cells that are used in reproduction). However, after many samples […]
POLL: Should neonicotinoids be banned to save bees?
Pesticides used on oilseed rape crops, whose bright yellow flowers have become an increasingly common sight across the British countryside, are harming native populations of wild bees, scientists have conclusively proved. Species that feed most on the flowers of the now-profitable cash crop used for vegetable oils and animal fodder are down by as much […]
POLL: Should neonicotinoid pesticides be banned to save our bees?
More than a quarter of American honeybee colonies were wiped out over the winter, with deadly infestations of mites and harmful land management practices heaping mounting pressure upon the crucial pollinators and the businesses that keep them. Preliminary figures commissioned by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) show that 28% of bee colonies in the […]
Bees and pesticides ‘missing link’ found
Scientists say they have found the “missing link” in the debate over the risk of pesticides to bees. French researchers say neonicotinoid pesticides harm individual honeybees, but whole colonies are able to recover in the wild. This accounts for discrepancies between lab and field studies, they report in Royal Society journal Proceedings B. A Europe-wide […]
A Four-toothed Mason Wasp
This lovely wasp can be found drinking nectar at flowers throughout the eastern United States right now. It is a good wasp to have around the garden because the females round up leaf-rolling caterpillars — the kinds that eat your plants — to provision their nests. When it is time to reproduce, the female wasp […]
5,000 Honeybees Strap On Backpacks in the Name of Science
There’s been a lot of buzz about colony collapse disorder, a phenomenon causing bees to die off around the world, and Australian scientists are trying a new approach to studying the phenomenon: They’re attaching tiny sensors to bees. More than 5,000 honeybees are being equipped with 2.5mm x 2.5mm sensors that relay data to recorders […]
Imported bumblebees pose risk to UK’s wild and honeybee population
Over three-quarters of the thousands of bumblebee colonies imported into the UK every year are riddled with parasites, a new study has revealed. Scientists say the discovery has “alarming” implications for the health of the UK’s wild bees and honeybees, many of which are already in serious decline, and that urgent action is required to […]