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 […]
Tag: pesticide
US plan to genetically alter crops via insects feared to be biological war plan
Government-backed researchers in America are aiming to use virus-carrying insects to genetically engineer crops – raising fears the technology could be used for biological weapons. A new article in the journal Science explores the shadowy program funded by the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (Darpa). The program aims to disperse infectious, genetically modified viruses […]
We’re losing the sound of crickets chirping in the summer
With crickets in decline, some scientists say that the insects’ summer crooning may become a thing of the past. Fireflies may be the more obvious iconic insect of summer evenings, what with their showy fairy-light antics and childhood charm. But what would those warm nights be without the chorus of crickets providing a soundtrack for […]
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 […]
One in 8 Bird Species Is Threatened by Extinction
A new report finds one out of every eight bird species is now facing the threat of extinction. What led to this and, crucially, how can we save our birds? The organization BirdLife International authored the comprehensive analysis, called the 2018 State of the World’s Birds report. The report uses population data from many of […]
8 Lion Cubs Killed in Suspected Poison Attack
Wildlife authorities found 11 lions dead from suspected poisoning in Uganda’s Queen Elizabeth National Park, in the southwest of of the country, on April 10. The dead lions, eight of them cubs and the other three adult lionesses, were part of a pride that also included three males. The pride had been filmed along with […]
Europe faces ‘biodiversity oblivion’ after collapse in French birds, experts warn
The “catastrophic” decline in French farmland birds signals a wider biodiversity crisis in Europe which ultimately imperils all humans, leading scientists have told the Guardian. A dramatic fall in farmland birds such as skylarks, whitethroats and ortolan bunting in France was revealed by two studies this week, with the spread of neonicotinoid pesticides – and […]
‘Catastrophe’ as France’s bird population collapses due to pesticides
Bird populations across the French countryside have fallen by a third over the last decade and a half, researchers have said. Dozens of species have seen their numbers decline, in some cases by two-thirds, the scientists said in a pair of studies – one national in scope and the other covering a large agricultural region in […]