Latest Pesticide toxicity to bees Stories
WASHINGTON, Jan. 16, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) today presented its report which finds that the neonicotinoid class of insecticides poses unacceptable hazards to bees. The report concludes that certain crops treated with neonicotinoid chemicals --imidacloprid, clothianidin and thiamethoxam-- are of "critical concern" for bee health. Beekeepers and environmental activists welcome these recent scientific findings that they say support a...
BRUSSELS, January 15, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- A Humboldt Forum for Food and Agriculture report highlights that if neonicotinoid seed treatments were no longer available, impact on the EU economy could be as great as EUR4.5 billion with a loss of at least 50,000 farm jobs across the EU. Over a 5-year period, the EU could lose up to EUR17 billion and face a significant increase in pest pressure. "These figures demonstrate the value this technology brings to EU farming",...
Lawrence LeBlond for redOrbit.com - Your Universe Online There’s more bad news for bees. Biologists from the University of London say that exposure to pesticides are having a broader, previously unforeseen effect on bumblebee populations. While pesticides have been blamed for bee decline in the past, studies on the issue have focused mainly on single pesticides at high doses. The new British study is the first to take a more direct look at the effect of a combination of chemicals and...
Lawrence LeBlond for redOrbit.com - Your Universe Online French beekeepers are seeing red after learning that M&M’s waste could be making their honeybees produce honey in shades of blues and greens. The phenomenon was first noticed by beekeepers in August around the town of Ribeauville, France; they observed the bees returning to their hives carrying strange colorful substances that have turned their naturally golden sweet wax into a palette of unnatural hues. The northeastern...
Brett Smith for redOrbit.com - Your Universe Online As the phenomenon known as Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) continues to plague North American honey bees, apiologists have been scrambling to find both the cause and the cure for the disappearance of millions of insects. According to a report in the open access journal Genome Biology, new research from a group of Canadian scientists may have found a major culprit responsible for the disorder: a parasitic mite known as Varroa...
Brett Smith for redOrbit.com - Your Universe Online Agricultural yields have always depended on pollinators and their symbiotic ability to spread the powdery substance necessary for plant reproduction, a fact that has become more important as the unexplained drop in the worldwide bee population continues. Pollinating insects add to the production of 84 percent of European crops and officials there are looking to boost the efforts of domesticated pollinators, such as honeybees, and wild...
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla., July 26, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- BeesFree, Inc. (OTCBB: BEES), reports it is bringing-to-market an organically-engineered, patent-pending, honeybee feeding formulation that is a scientific breakthrough proven to arrest the deadly effects of colony collapse disorder. "BeesVita Plus is a concentrated solution that is introduced to the honeybees' water supplies," says David Todhunter, BeesFree's chief executive officer. "Studies show when honeybees drink BeesVita Plus they...
AUSTIN, Texas, June 13, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The honey bee may be small, but it plays a mighty role in pollinating more than 100 fruit and vegetable crops across the world. With massive declines in honey bee populations, biodiversity and the future of our agriculture system and gardens are all being threatened. "Bees pollinate a third of our diet, yet they're literally vanishing from their hives," says Cheryl Galway, marketing director for Whole Foods Market's South region....
[ Watch the Video ] Lee Rannals for RedOrbit.com New research shows that a common pesticide can alter the appetite of honey bees and turn them into "picky eaters." Biologists at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) found that a single dose of imidacloprid given to bees made the insects crave sweeter foods and reject foods that may not be as tasty. According to the researchers, honey bees that prefer sweeter foods limit the amount of resources they contribute to the...
AMSTERDAM, May 15, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- International "Bees love organic" campaign finds overwhelming response - With photo More than a thousand Dutch cyclists are currently transforming a 1000 kilometre long bicycle trail into a "bee trail", by sowing organic flower seeds; 23 German organic wholesalers and retailers are distributing 280,000 bags of flower seeds with their organic products; the Youth Initiative Program in Sweden created a flowering...
