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 […]
The world’s most widely used insecticides would be banned from all fields across Europe under draft regulations from the European commission, seen by the Guardian. The documents are the first indication that the powerful commission wants a complete ban and cite “high acute risks to bees”. A ban could be in place this year if […]
Around the world, the animals that pollinate our food crops —over 20,000 species of bees, butterflies, bats and many others —are the subject of growing attention. An increasing number of pollinator species are thought to be in decline, threatened by a variety of mostly human pressures, and their struggles could pose significant risksfor global food […]
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 […]
More than a third of all honeybee colonies in England died over the winter, according to figures from the British Beekeepers Association, the worst losses since its winter survival survey began. On average, 33.8 colonies in every 100 perished over the long winter of 2012-13 compared with 16.2% the previous winter. In the south-west of […]
Sprinkled with pollen, buzzing bees fly from one blossom to another, collecting sweet nectar from brilliantly colored flowers. Bees tend to symbolize the pollination process, but there are many wild insects that carry out the same function. Unfortunately, wild insect populations are in decline, and, according to a recent study, adding more honey bees may […]
The UK government should suspend the use of a number of pesticides linked to the deaths of bees, a committee of MPs has said. Members of the Commons Environmental Audit Committee are calling for a moratorium on the use of sprays containing neonicotinoids. Britain has refused to back an EU ban on these chemicals saying […]
Commonly used pesticides are damaging honey bee brains, studies suggest. Scientists have found that two types of chemicals called neonicotinoids and coumaphos are interfering with the insect’s ability to learn and remember. Experiments revealed that exposure was also lowering brain activity, especially when the two pesticides were used in combination. The research is detailed in […]