The spring of 2008 was brutal for Europe’s honeybees. In late April and early May, during the corn-planting season, dismayed beekeepers in Germany’s upper Rhine valley looked on as whole colonies perished. Millions of bees died. France, the Netherlands and Italy reported big losses, but in Germany the incident took on the urgency of a […]
Tag: bees
POLL: Should Monsanto’s global weedkiller be banned to prevent the extinction of bees?
The world’s most used weedkiller damages the beneficial bacteria in the guts of honeybees and makes them more prone to deadly infections, new research has found. Previous studies have shown that pesticides such as neonicotinoids cause harm to bees, whose pollination is vital to about three-quarters of all food crops. Glyphosate, manufactured by Monsanto, targets […]
Ban on Bee-Killing Pesticides Overturned in National Wildlife Refuges
In another disappointing step backwards for the environment, the Trump administration has just overturned a ban on the use of pesticides and genetically modified crops on national wildlife refuges where farming is allowed. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) Deputy Director Greg Sheehan, said in a memo this month that the reversal is necessary to […]
POLL: Should Trump’s administration be allowed to lift the ban on pesticides?
The Trump administration has rescinded an Obama-era ban on the use of pesticides linked to declining bee populations and the cultivation of genetically modified crops in dozens of national wildlife refuges where farming is permitted. Environmentalists, who had sued to bring about the two-year-old ban, said on Friday that lifting the restriction poses a grave […]
No Plan B for Berlin Bees
Can you think of a species which bakes its own food, dances with mates, fight wars against each other, and offer their queens flowery stuff (to make babies)? You’ve guessed it, bees. Not what you expected? Well, bees have been around for 100,000,000 years. That’s 99,800,000 more years than humans have walked the Earth. Recently […]
Victory! European Union Bans Neonic Pesticides
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 […]
Total ban on bee-harming pesticides likely after major new EU analysis
The world’s most widely used insecticides pose a serious danger to both honeybees and wild bees, according to a major new assessment from the European Union’s scientific risk assessors. The conclusion, based on analysis of more than 1,500 studies, makes it highly likely that the neonicotinoid pesticides will be banned from all fields across the […]
Neonicotinoids May Harm Migratory Songbirds Too
A first-of-its-kind study shows a link between insecticide exposure and a decline in migratory songbirds. The new study, published in “Scientific Reports,” examines the possible effects of neonicotinoids on birds like sparrows. Neonicotinoids are highly controversial because, while insecticide manufacturers claim they are safe, mounting evidence suggests that neonicotinoids harm many bee species and may […]
