Honeybees get a lot of attention for their worrisome decline, but many species of bumblebees—which are key pollinators—are also in trouble. In Michigan, half of its bumblebee species have declined by 50 percent or more, Michigan Radio reported. “Of those twelve species, about half of them have declined and the other half are stable,” Thomas […]
A review of a decade of research of the impact of pesticides on bees found that even low doses commonly used in agriculture hurt the bees’ learning and memory, a Royal Holloway, University of London press release reported. The study, published Tuesday in the Journal of Applied Ecology, found the bees’ ability to remember floral […]
By Dan Nosowitz Neonicotinoid pesticides have commonly been linked to the plight of honeybees. But a new study from the University of Guelph finds that honeybees aren’t the only non-pest creatures that are coming into contact with the pesticides. Neonicotinoids, sometimes called neonics, are pesticides chemically similar to nicotine, hence their name. There are several […]
By John F. Tooker Planting season for corn and soybeans across the U.S. corn belt is drawing to a close. As they plant, farmers are participating in what is likely to be one of the largest deployments of insecticides in U.S. history. Almost every field corn seed planted this year in the U.S.—approximately 90 million […]
Scientists are increasingly realizing the importance of biodiversity for sustaining life on earth. The most comprehensive biodiversity study in a decade, published in March by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), warned that the ongoing loss of species and habitats was as great a threat to our and our planet’s wellbeing […]
European governments approved Friday a proposal to widen a ban on neonicotinoid pesticides that studies have found are harmful to bees and other pollinators. The move completely bans the outdoor uses of three neonicotinoids, or neonics, across the European Union. They include Bayer CropScience’s imidacloprid, Syngenta’s thiamethoxam and clothianidin developed by Takeda Chemical Industries and […]
A major global assessment of global bird populations paints a grim outlook for our feathered friends. A new report from BirdLife International finds that 40 percent of the world’s 11,000 bird species are in decline, with one in eight bird species now under some threat of extinction. The State of the World’s Birds 2018 report, […]
A study published Thursday in Current Biology is being hailed in a University of Exeter press release as a major “breakthrough” in developing bee-friendly insecticides. But some environmentalists think the research is asking the wrong questions to begin with. Pesticide Action Network UK Director Keith Tyrell told DW that focusing only on bee-safe pesticides was […]
The yearly count of monarch butterflies overwintering in Mexico, released Monday, shows a decrease from last year’s count and confirms the iconic orange and black butterfly is still very much at risk. The count of 2.48 hectares of occupied winter habitat is down from 2.91 hectares last winter. Overall, monarchs have declined by more than […]
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