Though parasitic mites continue to infect and kill honeybees, a new study suggests they are not to blame for colony collapse disorder (CCD), the phenomenon blamed for rapidly depleting the world's honeybee population -- pesticides are.
Harvard researchers, working with beekeepers in Massachusetts, kept tabs on 18 bee colonies, six hives in three different locations -- from October 2012 to April 2013. Half the colonies were treated with a non-lethal dose of two neonicotinoid pesticides.
The researchers found that at least a portion of bees abandoned all 18 nests throughout the cold winter. But whereas warmer temperatures encouraged the return of colonies to the pesticide-free nests, those sprayed with imidacloprid or clothianidin -- two of the world's most popular neonicotinoids pesticides, mainstays of industrial farming -- continued to suffer declining numbers into April.
The results suggest cold winters may exacerbate the ill effects of pesticides on bees and the colonizing behaviors.
Several more beach homes have crashed into the ocean along North Carolina’s Outer Banks, littering the...
A powerful winter weather system — including an intense low-pressure "bomb cyclone" along the East Coast...
