The weedkiller glyphosate, according to recent research, has affected wild bumblebees’ ability to keep their hives at the right temperature. Glyphosate is the most widely used insecticide on the planet, and it’s just meant to kill plants. Bumblebees, which are vital pollinators, were left out of regulatory risk assessments, which focus solely on whether a […]
Tag: pesticide
Banned DDT and PCBs Still Threaten Critically Endangered California Condors
Despite being banned since the 1970s, DDT and PCBs are still affecting wildlife today, particularly the California condor, a critically endangered species. The condors feed on dead marine life along the California coast that often contain higher amounts of contaminants compared to marine life elsewhere. Scientists at San Diego State University (SDSU) and San Diego […]
Rare white-tailed sea eagle poisoned with banned bendiocarb pesticide in West Sussex
After eating a pesticide forbidden for outdoor use in England, a rare white-tailed eagle was killed in West Sussex. Conservationists had been hearing rumors of the bird’s death for a long time, but police had yet to confirm it. A laboratory report confirming the usage of the prohibited herbicide bendiocarb has now proven that the […]
Birds, bats, bees and butterflies are essential for pollination in your garden
Pollinators include birds, bats, bees, butterflies, and a variety of other insects. Interestingly, honey bees are particularly recognized for their pollination skills. We’d be in a lot of trouble if they didn’t exist. Pollinators are involved in one out of every three bites of food humans consume, and they are critical to the ecosystem’s balance. […]
Researchers find that bumblebees’ body size could make them more vulnerable in a warming world
According to new research, the climate crisis may result in more small-bodied bees but fewer bumblebees, with potentially “cascading” implications on plant pollination and ecosystems. Over the course of eight years, scientists in the United States trapped and studied more than 20,000 bees in a region of the Rocky Mountains to see how different varieties […]
Halt destruction of nature or risk ‘dead planet’, leading businesses warn
World leaders must do more to prevent the destruction of nature, business leaders have warned before a summit in China that aims to draw up a draft UN agreement for biodiversity. In an open letter, the chief executives of Unilever, H&M and nine other companies have called on governments to take meaningful action on mass […]
Cyprus urged to ban hunting at coast to protect flamingoes from shotgun pellets
Conservationists in Cyprus are urging authorities to expand a hunting ban throughout a coastal salt lake network, amid concerns that migrating flamingos could swallow lethal quantities of lead shotgun pellets. Martin Hellicar, the director of Birdlife Cyprus, said flamingos were at risk of ingesting the tiny pellets lying on the lakebed as they fed. Like […]
Mass die-off of birds in south-western US ’caused by starvation’
The mass die-off of thousands of songbirds in south-western US was caused by long-term starvation, made worse by unseasonably cold weather probably linked to the climate crisis, scientists have said. Flycatchers, swallows and warblers were among the migratory birds “falling out of the sky” in September, with carcasses found in New Mexico, Colorado, Texas, Arizona […]