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Holger Casselmann / Wikimedia / CC BY-SA 3.0
The climate crisis has caused Japanese cherry blossoms to bloom in October and sped the arrival of spring in much of the U.S. But it turns out that humans aren't the only animals who can trick plants into flowering early.
<p><br/></p>
<p>Scientists have discovered that <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/bees" target="_self">bumblebees</a> can cause plants to flower as much as 30 days ahead of schedule by biting their leaves.</p><p>"I think it's fascinating how much we still don't know about organisms that we think we know really well," study coauthor and ETH Zurich professor Consuelo De Moraes <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-52759804" target="_blank">told BBC News</a>. "It absolutely increases our sense of wonder at the cleverness of nature in all its many forms."</p>
<span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="8c2bff1db53183539dd61a18086f2683"><iframe lazy-loadable="true" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/3z1OH_ebxrI?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span>
<p>The discovery, published in <a href="https://science.sciencemag.org/content/368/6493/881" target="_blank">Science Friday</a>, was made by accident. One of De Moraes' students, Foteini Pashalidou, observed buff-tailed bumblebees making small slits in the leaves of greenhouse plants, <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/2020/05/bumblebees-bite-plants-flower-early/" target="_blank">National Geographic</a> explained. However, the bees didn't appear to eat the leaf bits or bring them back to their nests.</p><p>The researchers did notice that the bees from colonies with less food were the ones most damaging the leaves, <a href="https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/05/hungry-bumblebees-make-plants-flower-early-cutting-holes-their-leaves" target="_blank">Science reported</a>. This led the scientists to wonder if the bees were trying to get the plants to flower early out of hunger, so they set up an experiment to test this hypothesis, as Science described:</p><blockquote>The researchers set up a greenhouse experiment with black mustard (<em>Brassica nigra</em>), a crop they had been studying. Ten plants were put in mesh bags with bumble bees that hadn't eaten any pollen for 3 days; they proceeded to nibble five to 10 holes in each plant. On average, <a href="https://science.sciencemag.org/cgi/doi/10.1126/science.aay0496" target="_blank">those plants flowered after 17 days</a>; undamaged plants that had not been exposed to bumble bees took an average of 33 days, the researchers report today in Science. In a similar experiment, tomato plants sped up their flowering by 30 days.</blockquote>
<p>Further experiments confirmed that the behavior was motivated by hunger. Pollen-deprived bees cut four times as many holes in lab leaves as fully fed bees. Outside the lab, bees cut holes in plants on a rooftop garden in early spring, but stopped doing so as frequently once more flowers began to bloom. The researchers also observed leaf-biting in two wild species: red-tailed and white-tailed bumble bees.</p><p>"That was super exciting," De Moraes told Science.</p><p>While this behavior is new to scientists, we may have encountered its evidence for years without realizing it. </p><p>"You see these semi-circular sort of incisions, often in the leaf," coauthor Dr Nark Mescher told BBC News. "One of the students was saying that they were eating a salad the other day, and they saw that kind of damage on the leaf that was probably from a bumblebee."</p>
<p>Beyond its novelty, the finding has important implications for bumblebees' ability to adapt to the climate crisis, National Geographic explained. As warmer spring temperatures cause <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/pollinators" target="_self">pollinators</a> to awaken before plants flower, this activity could ensure early-rising bees find food. It might also help farmers increase human food supply if they can copy the bees' technique.</p><p>But so far the researchers aren't sure how the bees' trick works. Attempts to duplicate it in the lab by damaging leaves in similar ways were only partially successful.</p><p>"We really tried to replicate it with the best of our ability," De Moraes told BBC News. "It's possible that the bees also have some cue that they are providing to the plants that is specific to the bee. And that could be secretions that we don't know about, but it's something that we plan to investigate."</p>
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Beekeeper Younes Kheir shows Julia Klöckner, federal minister of Food and Agriculture, honeycombs on World Bee Day, May 20, 2020 in Berlin, Germany. Carsten Koall / picture alliance via Getty Images
By Ajit Niranjan
Coronavirus lockdowns that keep farmers from fields and suppliers from markets are restricting another cornerstone of the agriculture industry: bees.
<p>Responsible for pollinating about a third of the plants we eat, <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/bees" target="_self">bees</a> are in short supply and their numbers are <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/insect-apocalypse-dying-ecosystem-species-loss-a-52160360/a-52160360" target="_blank">declining globally</a>. In large, food-exporting countries like the U.S. and China, there are too few local bees to pollinate crops — so beekeepers truck hives thousands of kilometers to pollinate fields.</p><p>Now, travel restrictions to halt the spread of the coronavirus are hurting the pollination industry by keeping bees at home. They are also stopping some beekeepers from feeding their hives, grounding flights that could import bees from abroad, and making it harder to hire seasonal workers to transport them, said Etienne Bruneau of Apimondia, the international federation of beekeepers. Some farmers "arrive in the [pollinating] season without bees and nobody to help them."</p>
<p>In the U.S., which is the world's biggest agricultural exporter but has fewer beehives than Spain, farmers rely on bees trucked long distances on pallets and forklifted into fields. California grows more than 3 in 4 of the world's almonds and each spring about two-thirds of the country's bee population is mobilized to pollinate them. The bees are then loaded onto trucks and sent elsewhere to fields of cherries, apples, blueberries, cranberries, pumpkins and other foods.</p><p>Pollination services contribute $15-20 billion (€13.7- €18.3 billion) to the value of U.S. crop production and, for many beekeepers, it is more lucrative than making honey. When bees gather nectar, pollen sticks to their bodies and rubs off onto other plants they land on. Harvest losses without their help can range from 5-10% for grains like rapeseed to as high as 80% for almonds and cherries, said Bruneau. </p>
<h3>Food Security</h3><p>Bees, together with pollinators like bats and birds, underpin the global food system. But their populations are dwindling and colonies collapsing as a result of human activity like building settlements, overusing pesticides, farming with monocultures and changing the climate through greenhouse gas emissions. A UN-backed assessment of <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/why-biodiversity-loss-hurts-humans-as-much-as-climate-change/a-48579014" target="_blank">life on earth</a> last year found that pollinator loss threatens $235-$577 billion in annual crop output.</p><p>While experts say the food security risk from restrictions to bee movements is small, it represents yet another coronavirus-induced shock to a global food system already reeling from the pandemic. The <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/world-food-program-act-now-to-prevent-coronavirus-famine/a-53219305" target="_blank">World Food Programme</a> warned last month that COVID-19 could double the number of people facing acute hunger — currently estimated at 135 million people — by the end of 2020.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/climate-change">Climate change</a>, conflict and poverty have worked together to drive food crises.</p><p>Across East Africa, the Middle East and South Asia, <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/locust-swarm-africa-wildfires-australia-climate/a-52208213" target="_blank">swarms of locusts</a> have ravaged vegetation after a year of weather extremes that included abnormally heavy rains and strong cyclones. While African bees have not been greatly affected by <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/do-coronavirus-lockdowns-in-africa-make-sense/a-53228689" target="_blank">lockdowns</a> — unlike in North America and Asia, beekeepers typically use fixed hives and do not move them large distances — pesticides to fight locusts have, in turn, hurt pollination, said David Mukomana, Apimondia's Africa president.</p><p>"Many [farmers] resorted to aerial sprays that had serious effects on many pollinating insects, bees included."</p><p>Meanwhile, across Asia and South America, <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/food-security">food security</a> is particularly threatened by a growing dependence on <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/pollinators">pollinators</a>, according to a study published in the journal Global Change Biology last year. Areas that are more biologically diverse encourage pollination, researchers say, but countries are farming in ways that hurt <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/biodiversity">biodiversity</a>.</p><p>What's more, the increase in pollinator dependency has not been matched by a rise in managed honeybees, the authors wrote, adding that this was an "alarm call" for pollinator-friendly farming methods such as targeted use of insecticide and planting hedgerows next to crops.</p><p>"The picture is worse for wild pollinators that are in decline in several regions," the authors wrote.</p>
<h3>Learning From Bees</h3><p>Even as lockdowns keep industrial bees grounded, wild bees may benefit from <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/coronavirus-air-pollution-might-raise-risk-of-fatality/a-52977422" target="_blank">a drop in pollution and traffic</a> as humans stay at home. A study published in the <em>Journal of Insect Conservation</em> in 2015 estimated that billions of pollinating insects were killed on roads each year in North America alone. A global fall in transport may have kept some bees safe.</p><p>Yet despite these short-term benefits, "lockdown will do virtually nothing to reverse the major causes of bumblebee declines, which are habitat loss and degradation," a spokesperson from the Bumblebee Conservation Trust said.</p><p>Bees also have their own viruses to deal with. Like people, honeybees live in large groups and thrive on social interactions.</p><p>"That poses risks when it comes to pathogen transmissions," said Adam Dolezal, an insect scientist at the University of Illinois. "If a pathogen evolves that can circumvent those risks, the bees have to respond or become more infected."</p>
<p>Honeybees may be in an "evolutionary arms race" with the deadly Israeli acute paralysis virus, according to a study published in the journal <em>PNAS</em> last month. While bees are known to socially distance from infected nest mates and touch each other less, the virus has evolved a way of sneaking sick bees past guards of other colonies and spreading itself into new hives.<br></p><p>In the wild, where beehives are sparsely spread and there is little interaction between colonies, this evolutionary trait offers little advantage. But in industrial farms — with up to thousands of bees per square kilometer — it gives viruses a greater chance of starting new outbreaks.</p><p>It suggests that intensive agriculture can increase the danger of pathogens that target insects, as well as humans and other animals. Modern farming practices have come under scrutiny since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic as scientists have sounded alarm bells about the dangers of <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/coronavirus-pandemic-linked-to-destruction-of-wildlife-and-worlds-ecosystems/a-53078480" target="_blank">habitat destruction and zoonotic diseases</a>.</p><p>This doesn't mean we should stop keeping bees this way, but it does show how manipulating natural environments can give advantages to viruses, said Dolezal, who co-authored the study. "We should be on the lookout for places where pathogens can find chinks in the armor of the organism."</p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/bees-coronavirus-lockdowns-pollination/a-53500622?maca=en-VAM_volltext_ecowatch-28485-html-copypaste" target="_blank">DW</a>.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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A blue bee on a firebush in Palm Beach, Florida on Sept. 10, 2016. Bob Peterson / CC BY 2.0
Scientists have "rediscovered" a rare blue bee that they feared was extinct.
<p>Until this spring, the "ultra-rare" blue calamintha bee (<em>Osmia calaminthae</em>) had only been observed in four locations in central Florida, and it hadn't been seen at all since 2016. So when <a href="https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/" target="_blank">Florida Museum of Natural History</a> research team Chase Kimmel and Jaret Daniels set out to document the bee's population status and habits, they weren't sure what they would find.</p><p>"I was open to the possibility that we may not find the bee at all so that first moment when we spotted it in the field was really exciting," Kimmel, a postdoctoral researcher, said in a museum <a href="https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/science/floridas-rare-blue-calamintha-bee-rediscovered/" target="_blank">press release</a>.</p>
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<p>Kimmel first spotted the bee March 9, he told <a href="https://eu.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/05/16/rare-blue-calamintha-bees-spotted-lake-wales-ridge-florida/5207086002/" target="_blank">USA TODAY in an email</a>. Since then, he has spotted the elusive pollinator in three of its previous locations and six additiona locations, according to the museum.</p><p>The research could have important implications for the bee's chances of survival. Florida's State Wildlife Action Plan lists the bee as a species of greatest <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/conservation" target="_self">conservation</a> need, and the study will help determine if it warrants <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/endangered-species-act" target="_self">Endangered Species Act</a> protections.</p><p>The bee is so vulnerable in part because it is thought to rely on a threatened plant called Ashe's calamint and live only in Florida's Lake Wales Ridge region, a hotspot of <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/biodiversity" target="_self">biodiversity</a> that the museum calls "one of the nation's fastest-disappearing ecosystems."</p>
<p>The ridge hosts so much unique life because, when most of Florida was underwater, it was raised above the waves in high sand dunes that acted like islands, giving isolated ecosystems a chance to flourish. Now, these habitats are islands of pine scrub in a sea of orange groves.</p><p>"It's one thing to read about habitat loss and development and another to be driving for 30-40 minutes through miles of orange groves just to get to a really small conservation site," Kimmel said. "It puts into perspective how much habitat loss affects all the animals that live in this area."</p>
<p>The bee also exhibits unique behaviors. It gathers pollen by bobbing its head side to side to collect it on its facial hairs. The very first time he saw the bee, Kimmel got a chance to see this in action.</p><p>"We observed a shiny little blue bee grabbing the flower and rubbing its head on the top portion of the flower two or three times before moving on to another flower," <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2020/05/16/us/florida-blue-calamintha-bee-trnd/index.html" target="_blank">Kimmel told CNN</a>. "In reading about this unique behavior we were pretty shocked to see it."</p><p>Kimmel and Daniels' research is set to last two years and determine the bee's feeding and nesting habits. So far, the team has found another plant the bee will use if it can't find Ashe's calamint.</p>
<p>The research has been hampered somewhat by the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/coronavirus" target="_self">coronavirus</a> pandemic, since travel restrictions mean Kimmel is in the field alone during the bee's flight season from mid-March to early May.</p><p>"It's a very time-limited flight. Now is when the bulk of that activity has to take place," Daniels, who is acting as Kimmel's adviser and is also the director of the museum's <a href="https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/index.php/mcguire/home/" target="_blank">McGuire Center for Lepidoptera and Biodiversity</a>, said in the press release. "Chase is doing a fantastic job and we're getting a lot of great data, but if it wasn't for the COVID-19 virus we would have had more people in the field, so it has definitely scaled back what we're able to do."</p>
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Asian giant hornets (Vespa mandarinia japonica) drinking sap from tree bark in Japan. Alpsdake/Wikipedia, CC BY-SA
By Akito Y Kawahara
Editor's note: According to recent press reports, two Asian giant hornets – a species not known to occur in North America – were found in northwest Washington state in late 2019, and a hornet colony was found and eliminated in British Columbia. Now scientists are trying to determine whether more of these large predatory insects are present in the region. Entomologist Akito Kawahara explains why headlines referring to "murder hornets" are misleading.
<p><br/></p>
<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/akito-y-kawahara-739749" target="_blank">Akito Y Kawahara</a> is an Associate Professor and Curator of Insects at Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida.<br/></em></p><p><em>Disclosure statement: </em><em>Akito Y Kawahara does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</em></p><p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-are-asian-giant-hornets-and-are-they-really-dangerous-5-questions-answered-137954" target="_blank">The Conversation</a>.</em></p>
1. How Common Are These hornets in Asia, and How Much Alarm Do They Cause?
<p>The Asian giant hornet (<em>Vespa mandarinia</em>) is fairly common in many parts of Asia, where it is called the "Giant hornet." Growing up in Japan, I saw them relatively frequently in the mountains outside of Tokyo.</p><p>These insects are large and distinctive, with a characteristic orange head and black-banded orange body. Like any other social wasp, they will defend their nest if the colony is disrupted. But in most cases they will not do anything if people aren't aggressive toward them.</p><p>Giant hornets have longer stingers than a honeybee's, and hornets do not break off their stingers when they sting. Because hornet stingers can puncture thick clothing, people should avoid hornets and their nests whenever possible.</p><p>Giant hornets frequently are attracted to tree sap: I was stung by one when I was looking for butterflies on trees. The sting is painful, but the swelling and pain in most cases subside in a few days.</p><p>Just as with honey bee stings, an allergic reaction, or anaphylaxis, can occasionally put people in the hospital. In rare cases, <a href="https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/bee-stings/symptoms-causes/syc-20353869" target="_blank">severe reactions can become fatal</a>. But wasp and hornet stings killed <a href="http://www2u.biglobe.ne.jp/~vespa/vespa0562.htm" target="_blank">less than 13 people a year in 2017 and 2018 in Japan</a> – less than 0.00001% of the national population – in a country where many people spend time in the woods.</p><p>If you are allergic to bee and wasp stings, it is best to avoid getting close to these insects and their nests, wear white clothing outdoors (they are attracted to dark colors), and avoid carrying open-top sweet drinks such as sodas in the woods.</p>
2. Are You Surprised That the Hornets Have Appeared in North America?
<p>To some degree, yes. Most likely, a single, fertile queen hornet entered Canada via shipping packaging and created the colony that was discovered in 2019.</p><p>It's easy for invasive species to travel this way. More than 19,000 cargo containers <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/policing-americas-ports-108008881/" target="_blank">arrive daily at U.S. ports</a>, and inspectors can only do random searches of shipping containers. One estimate suggests that just <a href="https://www.ncrs.fs.fed.us/pubs/jrnl/2001/nc_2001_haack_004.pdf" target="_blank">2% of shipments</a> are searched for evidence of harmful organisms such as plant pests. Many invasive species are intercepted, but some do get through.</p><p>It's very unlikely that an entire colony of hornets was transferred to North America. Colonies of this hornet are often large, and the hornets would be visible and potentially aggressive if their nest were disturbed.</p><p>A genetic test indicated that one of the hornets found in Washington was <a href="https://news.ucr.edu/articles/2020/05/06/murder-hornets-invade-headlines-not-us" target="_blank">not related to the Canadian colony</a>, but those results have not been published or peer reviewed. The Giant hornet has not been found in 2020 in either the U.S. or Canada.</p><img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzI3OTM0OC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY0NjY1MzYxMX0.r_Wa-PDa8oNFiB_ociakQHDhDnjSqAmc7nVin0-0FYQ/img.jpg?width=980" id="f4562" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="cdc146b7493cb5256374321f9336ca5d" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
Four wasp and hornet species often confused with the Giant hornet. Upper left: European hornet (Vespa crabro). Upper right: Common aerial yellowjacket (Dolichovespula arenaria). Lower left: European paper wasp (Polistes dominula). Lower right: Baldfaced hornet (Dolichovespula maculata). gailhampshire (upper left), Gilles Gonthier (upper right), Judy Gallagher (bottom images), all via Flickr, CC BY
3. What Kind of Conditions Do These Insects Need to Live?
<p>Giant hornets are fairly common in mountainous regions of Asia, but they're not often seen in large cities or highly urbanized areas. They usually nest at the base of large trees and inside dead logs. The fact that they can't tolerate extremely hot or <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/25008806" target="_blank">cold temperatures</a> makes it unlikely that they would spread to very hot or cold areas of North America.</p><p>If active colonies are discovered in 2020 in the Pacific Northwest, which has a more temperate climate, it's possible that they could spread there. However, it is unlikely that this would happen quickly, as foraging ranges of <em>Vespa</em> are only <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0185172" target="_blank">about 2,300 feet (700 meters) from their nest</a>.</p><p>The key to prevent spread is surveillance. Anyone in the Pacific Northwest should be alert for Giant hornets while they are outdoors this summer and fall.</p>4. If More Hornets Are Found, Could They Threaten Honeybees and Other Pollinators?
<p>Possibly. Some media posts have described destruction of honeybee nests by what could have been Giant hornets, but honeybees are not these insects' only prey. The hornets feed on different kinds of insects, and bring captured dead prey back to their hive to feed to their young.</p><p>In Japan, beekeepers surround their hives with <a href="https://shop.r10s.jp/diokasei/cabinet/suzume/imgrc0068904247.jpg" target="_blank">wire screen nets</a> to protect them from hornets. North American beekeepers can replicate these with wire netting from local hardware stores.</p><p>Many honeybees in Asia have the ability to protect their hive from intruding Giant hornets by <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2007.07.033" target="_blank">scorching them</a>. They wait for a hornet to enter their nest, then mob it by surrounding it completely with their bodies. Each honeybee vibrates its wings, and the combined warming of honey bee bodies raises the temperature in the center of the cluster to 122 degrees F (50 degrees C), killing the hornet. Carbon dioxide levels in the nest also increase during this process, which contributes to the hornet's death.</p><span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="21f08ef1a03946a68aa8e913227b5eb8"><iframe lazy-loadable="true" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/awoV5Wj9Iys?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awoV5Wj9Iys#action=share" target="_blank">youtu.be</a></p>
5. Are News Stories About “Murder Hornets” Overreacting?
<p>Yes, very much so. In parts of Japan, people consider these hornets beneficial because they remove pests, such as harmful caterpillars, from crops. They are also thought to contain nutrients, and have been used as ingredients in <a href="https://www.splendidtable.org/story/the-japanese-tradition-of-raising-and-eating-wasps" target="_blank">Japanese food and some strong liquors</a>. Some people believe the hornets' essence has medicinal benefits.</p><p>People who live in Vancouver, Seattle or nearby should certainly take note of what these insects look like. They are 2 inches long or more, with a <a href="https://extension.psu.edu/asian-giant-hornets" target="_blank">3-inch wingspan</a>, and have distinctly orange heads and broad striped orange and black-banded abdomens. That's different from typical North American hornets, which have yellow or white bodies with black marks.</p><p>In the unlikely case that you see a Giant hornet in Washington state, do not try to remove nests yourself or spray hornets with pesticides. Cutting down trees to prevent nesting sites is also unnecessary, and can affect many other kinds of native wildlife, including beneficial insects that are needed for pollination and decomposition. Many native insects are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-ento-011019-025151" target="_blank">declining globally</a>, and it's important to make sure these insects are not affected.</p><p>Instead, take a photo from a distance and report it to the <a href="https://agr.wa.gov/departments/insects-pests-and-weeds/insects/hornets" target="_blank">Washington State Department of Agriculture</a>. Photos are essential to verify that identifications are accurate.</p><p>Consider also uploading your images to <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/" target="_blank">iNaturalist</a>, which is one of the primary sources for information on tracking wildlife. The images are archived and carry data, such as location, time of observance and the insect's morphological features, that scientists can use for research. </p>From Your Site Articles
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The Asian giant hornet, the world's largest, was spotted for the first time in the U.S. in December. Photography by Shin.T / Moment / Getty Images Plus
Invasive "murder hornets" have been spotted in the U.S. for the first time, prompting concerns for the nation's honeybees and the trajectory of a year that has already brought locust invasions and a global pandemic.
<p>Four sightings of the world's largest hornets — officially called the Asian giant hornet (<em>Vespa mandarinia</em>) — were reported and verified in Washington State in December 2019, <a href="https://agr.wa.gov/departments/insects-pests-and-weeds/insects/hornets" target="_blank">according to the Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA</a>). But "murder hornet" began trending after the publication Saturday of a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/02/us/asian-giant-hornet-washington.html?campaign_id=51&emc=edit_MBE_p_20200504&instance_id=18199&nl=morning-briefing&regi_id=88631294&section=whatElse&segment_id=26545&te=1&user_id=d8eb7cee9d3c5ab39515239b6ec54d19" target="_blank">New York Times</a> piece about Washington's efforts to find and eradicate the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/insects" target="_self">insects</a> before they take hold, as <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/asian-giant-hornet-invasion-becomes-latest-2020-concern-n1199046" target="_blank">NBC News reported</a>.</p><p>"Murder hornets. Sure thing, 2020," actor and comedian Patton Oswalt tweeted. "Give us everything. Hypno-frogs. Fecal blizzards. Toilet tsunamis. A CATS sequel. We can take it."</p>
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<p>But for honeybees, the Asian giant hornet is no joke. The hornets enter a "slaughter phase" where they decapitate bees, WSDA said. They destroy an entire hive within hours and then claim it as their own, feeding the brood to their young.</p><p>Washington beekeeper Ted McFall told The New York Times of driving home in November to find a pile of decapitated bee carcasses on the ground.</p><p>"I couldn't wrap my head around what could have done that," McFall told The New York Times. He later came to suspect murder hornets, though this has not been confirmed.</p><p>There have also been sightings of the hornet across the border in British Columbia, but at least one of the Canadian hives was proven to be unconnected to one of the Washington hornets, meaning the insect was likely introduced to the region at least twice.</p>
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<p>While the hornets do not typically attack humans or pets unless threatened, their stings are extremely painful and can be deadly. They earned the nickname "murder hornet" because their group attacks can expose the victim to as much venom as a snake bite, Kyoto Sangyo University researcher Jun-ichi Takahash told The New York Times. In Japan, they kill as many as 50 people a year.</p><p>"It was like having red-hot thumbtacks being driven into my flesh," Conrad Bérubé, a beekeeper who was stung while exterminating a hive on Vancouver Island, told The New York Times of the experience.</p><p>The hornets are 1.5 to two inches long and have a yellow or orange head with bulging eyes and a black and yellow striped abdomen, according to WSDA.</p><p>"They're like something out of a monster cartoon with this huge yellow-orange face," Washington State University's (WSU) Department of Entomology bee breeder Susan Cobey said in a <a href="https://news.wsu.edu/2020/04/06/wsu-scientists-enlist-citizens-hunt-giant-bee-killing-hornet/" target="_blank">university press release</a>.</p>
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<p>WSU is working with WSDA, beekeepers and citizen scientists to locate and contain the hornets now that they are beginning to become active again. Queens usually emerge from hibernation in April, but the species is most destructive in the late summer and early fall.</p><p>If scientists can't stop the hornets' spread, it is uncertain what it would mean for the nation's bees. In Japan, they are a serious problem for European honeybees, who have no natural defenses. A similar hornet introduction to Europe saw beehives decline 30 percent and their honey tally fall by as much as two-thirds, WSDA eradication coordinator Rian Wojah told <a href="https://time.com/5831256/asian-hornets-murder-hornets/" target="_blank">TIME</a>.</p><p>WSU entomologist Todd Murray said he was worried about what the hornets' spread would mean for a state that relies on bees to pollinate crops like apples and cherries. He warned <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/invasive-species" target="_self">invasive species</a> could change ecosystems permanently.</p><p>"Just like that, it's forever different," Murray said. "We need to teach people how to recognize and identify this hornet while populations are small, so that we can eradicate it while we still have a chance."</p><p>If you see an Asian giant hornet and live in Washington state, you can help by reporting it to the WSDA Pest Program at 1-800-443-6684, pestprogram@agr.wa.gov or online at <a href="https://agr.wa.gov/departments/insects-pests-and-weeds/insects/hornets" target="_blank">agr.wa.gov/hornets</a>. If you live outside Washington and think you spot one of the hornets, WSDA advises you contact your state or province's department of agriculture.</p>
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Deadly Pathogen Alters Honey Bee Behavior to Gain Access to Foreign Hives, Researchers Find
30 April
Animals
Honey bees touch their mouthparts and antennae together to share food and information, but the practice also can transmit viruses. Fred Zwicky / University of Illinois
Honey bees guarding the entrances to their respective hives are twice as likely to allow access to virus-infected trespassers, suggesting that the pathogen is capable of altering the insect's behavior and physiology to boost its spread to neighboring colonies.
<p>Israeli acute paralysis virus (<a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-sciences/israeli-acute-paralysis-virus" target="_blank">IAPV</a>) is a widespread virus that has been <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plospathogens/article?id=10.1371/journal.ppat.1004261" target="_blank">linked</a> with colony losses, such as the mysterious outbreak of honey bee <a href="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/09/070906140803.htm" target="_blank">Colony Collapse Disorder</a> across the U.S. Publishing their work in <a href="https://www.pnas.org/content/early/2020/04/21/2002268117" target="_blank"><em>Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</em></a>, researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign determined that the virus is capable of changing certain host behaviors and physical traits, particularly in social contexts, of one of the world's most critical pollinators.</p><p>"The most important finding of our study is that IAPV infection increases the likelihood that infected bees are accepted by foreign colonies," <a href="https://news.illinois.edu/view/6367/808197" target="_blank">said</a> lead study author and professor of <a href="https://sib.illinois.edu/entomology/" target="_blank">entomology</a> <a href="https://sib.illinois.edu/profile/adolezal" target="_blank">Adam Dolezal</a>. "Somehow, the infected bees are able to circumvent the guards of foreign colonies, which they shouldn't be able to do."</p>
<p>IAPV is considered a "category of concern" and previous research has shown that honey bees infected with the virus are more likely to get lost when returning to their home hives. To determine how the pathogen manipulates host behavior, researchers built on previous work that employed an automated system to study bees' use of <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0003347203922561" target="_blank">trophallaxis</a>, the regurgitation of food and other liquids to feed colony members.</p><p>"Honey bees use trophallaxis to share food with each other as well as hormones and other signaling molecules that can affect their physiology and behavior. They do it in pairs by touching their mouthparts and antennae, and each bee does this with hundreds of partners a day," said study co-author and entomologist <a href="https://www.igb.illinois.edu/people/eab" target="_blank">Gene Robinson</a>.</p><p>"Trophallaxis is essential to the spread of information and nutrition throughout the hive, but unfortunately, a behavior performed with such close social contact also allows viral infections to be transmitted through a hive."</p>
<p>Bees were tagged with a barcode for continuous monitoring to determine how IAPV affects the use of trophallaxis. Observations showed that individuals infected with IAPV were just as mobile but engaged less in trophallaxis with home colony members, which protected their hive from viral infection. However, when a honey bee was placed at the entrance of a <em>foreign </em>hive, bees were more likely to engage through trophallaxis with guards – and those guards were then more likely to permit hive entrance to infected bees than healthy ones.</p><p>Further analysis determined that the virus also changes the chemistry of hydrocarbons that coat the bees' exoskeletons – in essence changing how they smell – suggesting that the infected bees may also be "behaving in a way that is meant to appease the guards by engaging more in trophallaxus."</p><p>The findings show that the virus is evolving in ways that enhance its ability to spread, which could be detrimental to honey bee colonies in the long-run. Human-induced environmental changes create conditions that make emerging diseases more likely – a problem that the study authors write is "likely to worsen as humans continue to move domesticated species around the world and adopt increasingly intense management practices."</p>
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A red admiral butterfly stands on a flower in an urban garden in the city center on August 9, 2018 in Berlin, Germany. Sean Gallup / Getty Images
If you haven't noticed as many bees, butterflies and fireflies as you used to, there's a good reason for that.
<p>It turns out that insects that live on land have seen their population decline 9 percent every decade, which means we have lost nearly one-fourth of them over the last 30 years and 50 percent of them over the last 75 years, according to a new analysis published in <em><a href="https://science.sciencemag.org/cgi/doi/10.1126/science.aax9931" target="_blank">Science</a></em>, as <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/23/world/insect-declines-scn/index.html" target="_blank">Newsweek</a> reported.</p><p>"And because it's a mean, there are places where it is much worse than that," Dr. Roel van Klink, an ecologist at the German Center for Integrative Biodiversity Research, told the <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-52399373" target="_blank">BBC</a>.</p>
<p>"Insect declines happen in a quiet way and we don't take notice from one year to the next. It's like going back to the place where you grew up. It's only because you haven't been there for years that you suddenly realize how much has changed, and all too often not for the better," added van Klink from the <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/23/world/insect-declines-scn/index.html" target="_blank">Newsweek</a> story.</p><p>The losses were strongest in the West and Midwest in the U.S. and in Europe, especially in Germany, according to the <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-52399373" target="_blank">BBC</a>.</p>
<p>The analysis looked at 166 long-term surveys from almost 1,700 sites between 1925 and 2018. It found that some insects were not following the trend. In fact, freshwater insects like mosquitoes and midges were increasing their numbers by about 11 percent per decade, which is likely due to conservation efforts to clean up polluted rivers and lakes. However, as <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/apr/23/insect-numbers-down-25-since-1990-global-study-finds" target="_blank">The Guardian</a> noted, these bugs make up only 10 percent of insect species and do not pollinate crops.</p><p>"Insect populations are like logs of wood that are pushed under water. They want to come up, while we keep pushing them further down. But we can reduce the pressure so they can rise again," said van Klink in a <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/23/world/insect-declines-scn/index.html" target="_blank">CNN</a> report. "The freshwater insects have shown us this is possible. It's just not always easy to identify the causes of declines, and thus the most effective measures to reverse them. And these may also differ between locations."</p>
<p>The researchers said the study is by no means complete, and there is an urgent need to accelerate the study of insect populations to paint a clearer picture. The rapid decline of insects worldwide has concerned scientists. Insects are among the most abundant and diverse species on the planet. They serve vital functions in preserving ecosystems, from aerating the soil to pollination and recycling of nutrients, the <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-52399373" target="_blank">BBC</a> reported.</p><p>The researchers would like to see data from understudied areas like South America, South Asia and Africa, where there is virtually none. They said that the rapid destruction of wild habitats in these places for farming and urbanization is likely to have drastically reduced insect populations, according to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/apr/23/insect-numbers-down-25-since-1990-global-study-finds" target="_blank">The Guardian</a>.</p>
<p>Professor Dave Goulson from the University of Sussex, who was not involved in the new analysis, told <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/apr/23/insect-numbers-down-25-since-1990-global-study-finds" target="_blank">The Guardian</a>, "People should be as concerned as ever about insects. It is great news that some aquatic insects seem to be increasing, probably from a very low level. But the bulk of insects are terrestrial and this new study confirms what was already clear: they have been declining for many decades."</p><p>The researchers do not take much heart from the increase in freshwater insect populations.</p><p>"The area of freshwater we have on earth is just a small percentage of the total land mass, so the numbers of freshwater insects will never be able to compensate for the terrestrial insects," van Klink related to the <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-52399373" target="_blank">BBC</a>.</p>
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5 Biggest Pesticide Companies Are Making Billions From 'Highly Hazardous' Chemicals, Investigation Finds
20 February
Health + Wellness
Worker spraying toxic pesticides or insecticides on corn plantation. D-Keine / E+ / Getty Images
Poor people in developing countries are far more likely to suffer from exposure to pesticides classified as having high hazard to human health or the environment, according to new data that Unearthed analyzed.
<p>The analysis shows that the world's top five pesticide makers are making billions, accounting for more than 36 percent of their income, from chemicals that are proven to hazards to humans and the environment and are contributing to the precipitous demise of bee populations, as Unearthed reported.</p>
<p>The researchers found that the sale of these highly hazardous pesticides (HHPs), disproportionately occurred in poorer nations, which often have fewer regulations than industrialized nations, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/feb/20/firms-making-billions-from-highly-hazardous-pesticides-analysis-finds" target="_blank">according to The Guardian</a>. In India, for example, sales of HHPs were nearly 60 percent, while in the UK it was just 11 percent. </p>
<p>The report from the investigative team at Unearthed focused on the practices of Bayer, BASF, Corteva (formerly Dow and DuPont), FMC and Syngenta, which are continuing to sell HHPs like neonicotinoids and glufosinate that have been banned in other parts of the world, according to the produce industry publication <a href="http://www.fruitnet.com/fpj/article/180959/pesticide-firms-profit-off-hazardous-products-says-report" target="_blank">Fresh Produce Journal</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://unearthed.greenpeace.org/2020/02/20/pesticides-croplife-hazardous-bayer-syngenta-health-bees/" target="_blank">Unearthed</a> dove into data collected by Phillips McDougall, the leading agribusiness analysts, from buyer surveys that concentrated on the best sellers in the top 43 pesticide buying countries, as The Guardian reported.</p>
<p>While regulations have stopped the sale of certain pesticides in Europe, the U.S. and Canada, it has hardly slowed down chemical companies, which sold $4.8 billion worth of products containing HHPs in 2018, as <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/feb/20/firms-making-billions-from-highly-hazardous-pesticides-analysis-finds" target="_blank">The Guardian reported</a>. Bayer called the analysis "misleading" but did not offer proof of that assessment.</p>
<p>Since the investigation focused on just 43 countries, it covered less than half of the companies' global sales. That suggests that the companies actually made billions more from pesticides that regulatory agencies have said pose hazards like acute poisoning or chronic illness in people, or high toxicity to bees and other wildlife, <a href="https://unearthed.greenpeace.org/2020/02/20/pesticides-croplife-hazardous-bayer-syngenta-health-bees/" target="_blank">according to Unearthed</a>. </p>
<p>The investigation found that pesticide manufacturers sold the majority of its highly hazardous pesticide in low- and middle-income countries like Brazil and India, where experts say the risks posed by using these chemicals are greatest, according to Unearthed. The biggest market for HHPs were for corn and soya crops. </p>
<p>About a quarter of sales were from products known to be human carcinogens or dangerous to reproductive health. Another 10 percent were toxic to bees. An additional 4 percent of chemicals sold are acutely toxic to humans. Every year, nearly 200,000 suicides are linked to pesticide poisoning, almost entirely in developing countries, according to The Guardian. </p><p>"This investigation shows that there is a huge disconnect between what those companies are saying in the international policy arena and what they are actually doing," Meriel Watts, a senior science and policy advisor to the Pesticide Action Network, said to Unearthed.</p><p>Baskut Tuncak, the United Nations' <a href="https://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Environment/ToxicWastes/Pages/BaskutTuncak.aspx" target="_blank">special rapporteur on toxic substances</a> and human rights, told <a href="https://unearthed.greenpeace.org/2020/02/20/pesticides-croplife-hazardous-bayer-syngenta-health-bees/" target="_blank">Unearthed</a>, "There is nothing sustainable about the widespread use of highly hazardous pesticides for agriculture."</p><p>"Whether they poison workers, extinguish biodiversity, persist in the environment, or accumulate in a mother's breast milk, these are unsustainable, cannot be used safely, and should have been phased out of use long ago," Tuncak said.</p>
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Trending
A bumblebee on a Dusky Cranesbill geranium plant on May 14, 2018 in London, England. Victoria Jones - WPA Pool / Getty Images
Rampant pesticide use and habitat loss has already crippled bumblebee populations. New research now shows that warming temperatures around the world will further push bumblebees to the brink of extinction, as The New York Times reported.
<p>The loss of bumblebees spells trouble for plant <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/biodiversity" target="_self">biodiversity</a> since they are some of the most important <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/pollinators" target="_self">pollinators</a> in the world. Bumblebees pollinate and fertilize a wide array of plants and crops, including tomatoes, blueberries and squash. However, if you are in North America, you are nearly 50 percent less likely to see a bumblebee in any given area than you were prior to 1974, according to the new research, as <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/2020/02/bumblebees-going-extinct-climate-change-pesticides/#close" target="_blank">National Geographic</a> reported.</p><p>The new research, published in the journal <a href="https://science.sciencemag.org/content/367/6478/685" target="_blank">Science</a>, employed a massive dataset and a complex modeling system to look at bee populations and to find the reason for their decline. The researchers found that bee populations have experienced the largest decline in places that have warmed at a faster rate than the rest of the planet.</p>
<p>Some bumblebee species have disappeared from areas where they once flourished. For example, the rusty-patched bumblebee once thrived in Ontario, but now it is no longer found in Canada. In the U.S., it is <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/endangered-species" target="_self">endangered</a>, as <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/2020/02/bumblebees-going-extinct-climate-change-pesticides/#close" target="_blank">National Geographic</a> reported.</p><p>"The things [we] grew up with as kids are fading away very fast," said Dr. Jeremy Kerr, senior author of the study and a biology professor at the University of Ottawa, as <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/06/us/bumble-bee-climate-change-extinction-study-scn/index.html" target="_blank">CNN</a> reported.</p><p>"It's not just that we're looking at what our kids will experience; it's that we are looking back not even a full generation, just to when we were kids, and saying, 'Could we take our children to places we loved and find what we found?' What our study says is that that answer is no across entire continents."</p><p>The scientists at the University of Ottawa looked at 66 different bumblebee species across two continents. They found that bumblebee populations have declined by 46 percent in North America and by 17 percent in Europe compared to the period from 1901 to 1974, according to the <a href="https://science.sciencemag.org/content/367/6478/685" target="_blank">study</a>.</p>
<p>"The scale of this decline is really worrying," said Peter Soroye, a doctoral student in biology at the University of Ottawa and lead author of the study, to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/02/06/climate/bumblebees-extreme-heat-weather.html" target="_blank">The New York Times</a>. "This group of organisms is such a critical pollinator in wild landscapes and agricultural regions."</p><p>To build their model, the researchers relied on a database of roughly 550,000 bee records over a century. The researchers looked at two time periods: 1901 to 1974 and 2000 to 2015. Then they examined if temperatures and precipitation exceeded the bumblebees' tolerance level, as <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/06/us/bumble-bee-climate-change-extinction-study-scn/index.html" target="_blank">CNN</a> reported.</p><p>Bumblebees, which prefer cooler, slightly wet temperatures, perished in areas that had heat waves, prolonged dryness, or frequently <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/extreme-weather" target="_self">extreme weather</a>. That pattern, which is commensurate with the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/climate-crisis" target="_self">climate crisis</a>, threatens bumblebees with extinction and from the possibility of establishing colonies or creating new species, according to <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/06/us/bumble-bee-climate-change-extinction-study-scn/index.html" target="_blank">CNN</a>.</p>
<p>Kerr said that there are several mechanisms at play. Bees can simply overheat. Or, as plants wither, the bees starve. Additionally, early springs and re-freezings threaten queens, which spend the winter in forest leaf litter, as <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/2020/02/bumblebees-going-extinct-climate-change-pesticides/#close" target="_blank">National Geographic</a> reported.</p><p>The loss of bees may have a devastating effect on plants that rely on them and animals that rely on those plants.</p><p>"As these plants are then used by myriad other organisms, the decline of bumblebees can have cascading ecological [effects] that may collectively cause biodiversity loss," said <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Matthew_Austin3" target="_blank">Matthew Austin</a>, a Ph.D. student and researcher at the University of Missouri in St. Louis who wasn't involved in the paper, to <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/2020/02/bumblebees-going-extinct-climate-change-pesticides/#close" target="_blank">National Geographic</a>.</p><p>"Our results show that we face a future with many less bumble bees and much less diversity, both in the outdoors and on our plates," said Soroye in a University of Ottawa statement.</p>
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The endangered yellow-faced bumble bee consistently chose the large-leaved lupine (Lupinus polyphyllus), seen above, even when others were available. vil.sandi / Flickr / CC BY-ND 2.0
In an effort to aid North American bumblebee conservation, a group of California researchers has identified which flowers certain bee species prefer.
<p>There are nearly 20,000 known bee species in the world, 4,000 of which are native to the U.S., according to the <a href="https://www.usgs.gov/faqs/why-are-bees-important?qt-news_science_products=0#qt-news_science_products" target="_blank">U.S. Geological Society</a>. Bees <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/pollinators" rel="noopener noreferrer">pollinate</a> roughly three-quarters of all fruits, nuts and <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/vegetables" rel="noopener noreferrer">vegetables</a> grown across the country and one of every four bites of food can be credited to bee pollination. But bees are in major decline as nearly 40 percent of honey bees have declined in the last year, <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/US/40-decline-honey-bee-population-winter-unsustainable-experts/story?id=64191609" target="_blank">according to ABC News</a>. Populations have dropped for a number of reasons, including parasites, <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/pesticides" rel="noopener noreferrer">pesticides</a> and a lack of flowers on the landscape — all factors that highlight a need for understanding habitat needed to sustain and recover populations. </p>
<p>Working with the <a href="https://www.entsoc.org/" target="_blank">Entomological Society of America</a>, scientists set out to determine which flowers bumble bees prefer in an effort to aid land managers seeking to restore critical habitat.</p><p>"It's important to consider the availability of plants when determining what's selected for by bees," Jerry Cole, study author and biologist with the <a href="https://www.birdpop.org/" target="_blank">Institute for Bird Populations</a> (IBP), <a href="https://eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-01/esoa-nsi012220.php" target="_blank">said</a>. "Often studies will use the proportion of captures on a plant species alone to determine which plants are most important to bees. Without comparison to how available those plants are, you might think a plant is preferentially selected by bees, when it is simply very abundant."</p>
<blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/B739KpQgS6W/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="12" style=" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:540px; min-width:326px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);"><div style="padding:16px;"> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B739KpQgS6W/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" style=" background:#FFFFFF; line-height:0; padding:0 0; text-align:center; text-decoration:none; width:100%;" target="_blank"> <div style=" display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div></div></div><div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display:block; height:50px; margin:0 auto 12px; width:50px;"><svg width="50px" height="50px" viewBox="0 0 60 60" version="1.1" xmlns="https://www.w3.org/2000/svg" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><g stroke="none" stroke-width="1" fill="none" fill-rule="evenodd"><g transform="translate(-511.000000, -20.000000)" fill="#000000"><g><path d="M556.869,30.41 C554.814,30.41 553.148,32.076 553.148,34.131 C553.148,36.186 554.814,37.852 556.869,37.852 C558.924,37.852 560.59,36.186 560.59,34.131 C560.59,32.076 558.924,30.41 556.869,30.41 M541,60.657 C535.114,60.657 530.342,55.887 530.342,50 C530.342,44.114 535.114,39.342 541,39.342 C546.887,39.342 551.658,44.114 551.658,50 C551.658,55.887 546.887,60.657 541,60.657 M541,33.886 C532.1,33.886 524.886,41.1 524.886,50 C524.886,58.899 532.1,66.113 541,66.113 C549.9,66.113 557.115,58.899 557.115,50 C557.115,41.1 549.9,33.886 541,33.886 M565.378,62.101 C565.244,65.022 564.756,66.606 564.346,67.663 C563.803,69.06 563.154,70.057 562.106,71.106 C561.058,72.155 560.06,72.803 558.662,73.347 C557.607,73.757 556.021,74.244 553.102,74.378 C549.944,74.521 548.997,74.552 541,74.552 C533.003,74.552 532.056,74.521 528.898,74.378 C525.979,74.244 524.393,73.757 523.338,73.347 C521.94,72.803 520.942,72.155 519.894,71.106 C518.846,70.057 518.197,69.06 517.654,67.663 C517.244,66.606 516.755,65.022 516.623,62.101 C516.479,58.943 516.448,57.996 516.448,50 C516.448,42.003 516.479,41.056 516.623,37.899 C516.755,34.978 517.244,33.391 517.654,32.338 C518.197,30.938 518.846,29.942 519.894,28.894 C520.942,27.846 521.94,27.196 523.338,26.654 C524.393,26.244 525.979,25.756 528.898,25.623 C532.057,25.479 533.004,25.448 541,25.448 C548.997,25.448 549.943,25.479 553.102,25.623 C556.021,25.756 557.607,26.244 558.662,26.654 C560.06,27.196 561.058,27.846 562.106,28.894 C563.154,29.942 563.803,30.938 564.346,32.338 C564.756,33.391 565.244,34.978 565.378,37.899 C565.522,41.056 565.552,42.003 565.552,50 C565.552,57.996 565.522,58.943 565.378,62.101 M570.82,37.631 C570.674,34.438 570.167,32.258 569.425,30.349 C568.659,28.377 567.633,26.702 565.965,25.035 C564.297,23.368 562.623,22.342 560.652,21.575 C558.743,20.834 556.562,20.326 553.369,20.18 C550.169,20.033 549.148,20 541,20 C532.853,20 531.831,20.033 528.631,20.18 C525.438,20.326 523.257,20.834 521.349,21.575 C519.376,22.342 517.703,23.368 516.035,25.035 C514.368,26.702 513.342,28.377 512.574,30.349 C511.834,32.258 511.326,34.438 511.181,37.631 C511.035,40.831 511,41.851 511,50 C511,58.147 511.035,59.17 511.181,62.369 C511.326,65.562 511.834,67.743 512.574,69.651 C513.342,71.625 514.368,73.296 516.035,74.965 C517.703,76.634 519.376,77.658 521.349,78.425 C523.257,79.167 525.438,79.673 528.631,79.82 C531.831,79.965 532.853,80.001 541,80.001 C549.148,80.001 550.169,79.965 553.369,79.82 C556.562,79.673 558.743,79.167 560.652,78.425 C562.623,77.658 564.297,76.634 565.965,74.965 C567.633,73.296 568.659,71.625 569.425,69.651 C570.167,67.743 570.674,65.562 570.82,62.369 C570.966,59.17 571,58.147 571,50 C571,41.851 570.966,40.831 570.82,37.631"></path></g></g></g></svg></div><div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style=" color:#3897f0; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:550; line-height:18px;"> View this post on Instagram</div></div><div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"><div> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"></div> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"></div></div><div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"></div> <div style=" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg)"></div></div><div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style=" width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"></div> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"></div> <div style=" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"></div></div></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"></div> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"></div></div></a><p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B739KpQgS6W/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none;" target="_blank">A post shared by Institute for Bird Populations (@instbirdpop)</a> on <time style=" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;" datetime="2020-01-28T19:01:15+00:00">Jan 28, 2020 at 11:01am PST</time></p></div></blockquote> <script async src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script><p>To come to their conclusions, researchers captured more than a dozen different species of bumblebees on more than 100 different species of flowers in the Sierra Nevada region of California. Researchers recorded what species of flower each bee was captured on and then estimated the number of plants found in each plot. The <a href="https://academic.oup.com/ee/advance-article/doi/10.1093/ee/nvz159/5714030" target="_blank">findings</a> suggest that different bumblebee species select specific flowers even when foraging across the same landscape.<br></p>
<p>"We discovered plants that were big winners for all bumble bee species but, just as importantly, plant species that were very important for only a single bumble bee species," said Helen Loffland, a meadow species specialist with the Institute for Bird Populations. "This study allowed us to provide a concise, scientifically based list of important plant species to use in habitat restoration that will meet the needs of multiple bumble bee species and provide blooms across the entire annual lifecycle."</p><p>The yellow-faced bumble bee (<em>Bombus vosnesenskii</em>) was most abundantly observed. The endangered <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/insects" rel="noopener noreferrer">insects</a> preferred large-leaved lupine (<em>Lupinus polyphyllus</em>) and consistently chose the flowering plant even when others were available. Three of five bumblebee species were found to prefer <em>A. urticifolia</em>, a flowering plant in the mint family.</p><p>Some of other favorites? The fuzzy buzzing insects also preferred Oregon checker-mallow (<em>Sidalcea oregana</em>), Alpine mountainbalm (<em>Monardella odoratissima), </em>tall fringed bluebells (<em>Mertensia ciliate</em>) and cobwebby hedge nettle (<em>Stachys albens</em>). </p>
<p>It is important to note that bees likely don't have natural preferences but instead choose flowers based on quality or quantity of nectar or pollen. People should interpret the results with caution because the researchers did not conclude whether plants were being used for pollen or nectar sources, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/28/us/best-flowers-for-bees-conservation-study-scn/index.html" target="_blank">CNN notes</a>. </p><p>The U.S. Forest Service says that it is using the study results to identify areas where restoration efforts may make more ample bee habitat. </p><p>"This sort of knowledge can really increase the effectiveness of restoration for bumblebees in a way that is relatively easy and cost-effective to implement," said Loffland, adding that the findings can be helpful to landowners who are restoring or managing areas that are habitat for native bees.</p>
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Organic carrots and radishes at a farmers' market. carterdayne / iStock / Getty Images Plus
By Brian Barth
There's something of a civil war brewing in the organic movement.
<p>On one side are industry boosters boasting about how organic has gone mainstream. These folks are fine with a <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/big-food" rel="noopener noreferrer">Big Ag</a> version of organic <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/agriculture" rel="noopener noreferrer">agriculture</a> — enormous monocrop fields and global distribution to every Walmart across the land. On the other side are purists who feel that the spirit of organic — building healthy <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/soil" rel="noopener noreferrer">soil</a>, promoting <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/biodiversity" rel="noopener noreferrer">biodiversity</a>, focusing on small producers and distributing regionally — is no longer represented by the USDA certified organic label (hence the various alternative organic labels popping up).</p><p>The USDA certification has never explicitly required any of those things, however. Instead, organic rules focus primarily on substituting natural fertilizers and pest control methods for chemical ones. But even here things aren't quite as they seem.</p>
<p><strong>Does Organic Mean Toxin-Free?</strong></p><p>Not entirely. USDA standards allow the use of several dozen synthetic <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/chemicals">chemicals</a> on certified organic farms, although most are fairly benign substances, and those that aren't tend to be heavily restricted in the ways that they can be applied (certain synthetic fertilizers are also permitted in limited circumstances). More of an issue is that some of the naturally derived substances permitted for use as <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/pesticides" rel="noopener noreferrer">pesticides</a> are used in unnatural concentrations that make them highly toxic (to creatures such as <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/bees" rel="noopener noreferrer">bees</a>, for example). Rotenone, a notoriously toxic but naturally derived pesticide, was on the list of permitted substances until last year.</p>
<p><strong>Does Organic Mean Local?</strong></p><p>Not at all. Organic products constitute around five percent of <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/food/" rel="noopener noreferrer">food</a> sales in the U.S., but only about one percent of U.S. farmland is organic, suggesting that most organic food is imported. Organic certification does not take carbon footprints into account — and it's fairly clear that organic grapes flown in from Chile have a larger environmental impact than their locally grown but conventional counterparts.</p>
<p><strong>Does Organic Mean Grown on a Small, Diversified Farm?</strong></p><p>The organic standards say nothing about size and little about diversity. Things such as hedgerows for habitat are encouraged by the standards, but there is nothing in the rules that prevents organic farmers from planting monocultures fence line to fence line.</p>
<p><strong>Does Organic Mean Livestock Roam Free and Forage on Grass?</strong></p><p>This is an extremely contentious topic between Big Organic and the purists. Organic livestock must be provided access to the outdoors and, depending on the species, must receive a portion of their diet from foraging. But there are a lot of convoluted rules — some would call them loopholes— regarding how those requirements can be met. The bottom line is that it's possible to stick to the letter of the organic law and run a livestock operation that differs little from a confined animal feeding operation, aka <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/factory-farming" rel="noopener noreferrer">factory farming</a>.</p>
<p><strong>Does Organic Mean Topsoil is Restored?</strong></p><p>Rebuilding topsoil that teems with microbial life was the foundation of the organic movement in the 1960s. This was a response to the sterile, eroded soil that 20th-century conventional agriculture methods left across the planet. The inconvenient truth is that organic agriculture requires frequent cultivation to control weeds, leaving it bare and susceptible to erosion. In the 21st century, conventional agriculture is increasingly based on the use of herbicide-tolerant GMO crops that have vastly reduced the amount of tillage required, cutting down significantly on erosion (at the cost of greater herbicide use, however). Erosion as a result of frequent cultivation isn't much of an issue on a small diversified farm, but large monocultures of organic produce are likely to lose more topsoil each year than well-managed conventional ones.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Organic Farms Are Under Attack From Agribusiness, Weakened Standards <a href="https://t.co/2S3xWUmlCl">https://t.co/2S3xWUmlCl</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Organic?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Organic</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Farming?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Farming</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Agriculture?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Agriculture</a> <a href="https://t.co/VsubeM7rFs">pic.twitter.com/VsubeM7rFs</a></p>— Renewable Search (@RenewableSearch) <a href="https://twitter.com/RenewableSearch/status/1109788973650460674?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 24, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from our media associate <a href="https://modernfarmer.com/2019/09/does-certified-organic-mean-what-we-think-it-does/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Modern Farmer</a>.</em><br/></p>
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