Human-raised honeybees are in trouble, and the biggest threat they face is the varroa mite. This is an eight-legged parasite that is smaller than a pinhead, Science explained. It harms bees by feeding on their fat and weakening their immune systems, and also by spreading viruses the bees are then less able to defend themselves against.
A farmer in Iowa lost tens of thousands of honeybees and after vandals destroyed several hives on two separate occasions. In a Facebook post on Monday, Grateful Acres Farm northeast of Des Moines said it found three of its strongest hives smashed by logs, bricks and cinder blocks. Each hive can hold up to 60,000 […]
The Center for Biological Diversity Thursday urged the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to deny Bayer CropScience’s request to allow the highly bee-toxic pesticide flupyradifurone to be sprayed on tobacco in states like Kentucky and North Carolina. Although flupyradifurone is known to harm pollinators like bees and freshwater invertebrates like mussels, the pesticide maker is asking […]
Another study has cast doubt on the environmental safety of glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup, the most frequently used weedkiller in the world. Researchers at the University of Texas at Austin (UT) exposed bees to glyphosate and found that it reduced the beneficial bacteria in their guts, making them more susceptible to disease. “We […]
Bees are vital pollinators, and the consequences of their dying population could have far-reaching impacts to our food chain. That’s why a woman in Cape Coral in southwest Florida expressed regret after calling pest control to exterminate thousands of honeybees that swarmed her garage and SUV on Saturday. “I just wish it could have been […]
By Sam Schipani “Save the bees” is a rallying cry we’ve been hearing for years now—one that conjures up images of fuzzy black and yellow honeybees, sipping nectar from colorful flowers or swarming with their bee brethren among tessellated combs while human defenders spread the word about dwindling bee populations. But honeybees are at no […]
Two boys were charged with killing more than a half million bees at a honey business in Iowa last month. “All of the beehives on the honey farm were destroyed and approximately 500,000 bees perished in the frigid temperatures,” Sioux City police said in a release. The suspects, a 12 and 13 year old, allegedly […]
By Dan Nosowitz All species evolve over time to have distinct preferences for survival. But with rapidly changing synthetic chemicals, sometimes animals don’t have a chance to develop a beneficial aversion to something harmful. New research from the University of Illinois indicates that honey bees—which are dying en masse—may actually prefer the taste of flowers […]
By Jessica Corbett Raising further concerns about the global food production system, a new study found that bees worldwide are being widely exposed to dangerous agricultural chemicals, with 75 percent of honey samples from six continents testing positive for pesticides known to harm pollinators. “What this shows is the magnitude of the contamination,” the study’s […]
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