Over 70 percent of the world’s crop species that feed humans are pollinated by bees. Simply put, we needbees. If anyone isn’t interested in the conservation of species just because they deserve to live, then maybe they care that it will affect humans badly if bees were to go extinct. Yet, bee populations are rapidly […]
Tag: insecticide
Half a billion bees dead as Brazil approves hundreds more pesticides
Last century, Albert Einstein predicted that if bees disappeared off the face of the Earth, humans would only have four years left to live. The death of these insects on a large scale, seen as apocalyptic at the time, now constitutes a real warning for humanity. Between December 2018 and February 2019, more than 500 […]
POLL: Should genetically-modified bees with pesticide resistance be created?
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 […]
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The Trump administration has rescinded an Obama-era ban on the use of pesticides linked to declining bee populations and the cultivation of genetically modified crops in dozens of national wildlife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 […]
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 […]
Insect declines: new alarm over mayfly is ‘tip of iceberg’, warn experts
Modest levels of pollution found in many English rivers are having a devastating impact on mayflies, new research suggests, killing about 80% of all eggs. Clouds of emerging mayflies were once a regular sight on English summer evenings and they are a key part of the food chain that supports fish, birds and mammals. 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 […]