Life without bees isn’t life at all. Seriously, have you considered just how empty supermarkets would be if the tiny, bumbling insects went extinct? Since the 1980s, bee populations have diminished dramatically. At least 61 culprits – from viruses to pesticides – have been blamed, but scientists are still groping for answers. One culprit in particular – the mite – is thought to be a major …
KATIE VALENTINE – Bees And Other Pollinators Are Facing Extinction, And That’s Very Bad News For Us
Bees and other pollinators are in trouble — so much so that many of them are facing extinction, according to a new report. The report, released Friday by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), is a two-year assessment of the threats facing pollinators — both vertebrates, such as birds and bats, and invertebrates, such as bees, butterflies, …
Mapping Study Pins Wild Bee Decline on Intensive Farming Practices
A national study suggests that intensive farming is perhaps the greatest danger to wild bee survival. Led by University of Vermont scientist Dr. Insu Koh, the research team is the first to compare the species’ population over time with the location of pollinator-dependent crops. The researchers found that between 2008 and 2013, the abundance of wild bees dropped in almost …
Loss of wild flowers matches pollinator decline
The first Britain-wide assessment of the value of wild flowers as food for pollinators shows that decreasing resources mirror the decline of pollinating insects. The study, by researchers at the University of Leeds and University of Bristol supported by theCentre for Ecology and Hydrology and Fera Science Ltd, combines vegetation surveys taken over the last 80 years with modern-day measurements of nectar to provide …
Bed bugs have developed resistance to neonicotinoids
A new study published in the Journal of Medical Entomology is the first to report that bed bugs have developed resistance to a class of insecticides known as neonicotinoids, or neonics, the shortened name. Neonics are the most widely used group of insecticides today, and several products have been developed for bed bug control over the past few years that …
Ariana Marisol – Create a Bee Friendly Garden and Help Save the Bees: Our Survival Depends On It
The tireless work of bees is one of the main reasons for the possibility of human development on earth. Without them, our planet would be a lot different and the conditions for human development may not have existed. You can save these helpful pollinators by creating a bee-friendly space in your garden. Bees are the reason flowering plants are able …
Harvard Finds Pesticide in 70% of Honey Samples Tested
The Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) issue you keep hearing about (the phenomenon that is killing our bees and butterflies), well it just got real again with a study from Harvard. The study shows that 70% of honey samples collected in Massachusetts contain at least one neonicotinoid, the pesticide class that biotech companies say have nothing to do with the bee die offs we …
Tom Philpott – Scientists Say Supposedly Miraculous Ingredients in Weed Killers Don’t Actually Work
Before pesticides go from the laboratory to the farm field, they have to first be vetted by the Environmental Protection Agency. But they’re commonly mixed—sometimes by the pesticide manufacturers, sometimes by the farmers themselves—with substances called adjuvants that boost their effectiveness (to spread more evenly on a plant’s leaf in the case of insecticides, or to penetrate a plant’s outer …
Buzz the alarm: Climate change puts squeeze on bumblebees
Global warming is putting the squeeze on bumblebees. In the most comprehensive study ever conducted of the impacts of climate change on critical pollinators, scientists have discovered that global warming is rapidly shrinking the area where these bees are found in both North America and Europe. Researchers examined more than 420,000 historical and current records of many species of bumblebees–and …
Organic is bee-friendly, shows new report
An important and timely report just released by The Organic Center shows that organic farming practices are effective in maintaining the health and population of important crop pollinators, predominantly bees, which have been declining at an alarming rate in the past decade and threatening global food security. Titled “The Role of Organic in Supporting Pollinator Health,” the report reviewed 71 …