expert reaction to a study on the impact of glyphosate on honey bees
Research published in PNAS shows that glysphosate (a common herbicide) increases the susceptibility of bees to certain pathogens when ingested. read more
Research published in PNAS shows that glysphosate (a common herbicide) increases the susceptibility of bees to certain pathogens when ingested. read more
A study published in Nature looked at a new class of pesticide, sulfoximine, and its potential impact on bumblebee colony health. read more
Further restrictions on neonicotinoid pesticides have been approved following a vote in the European Commission. read more
The European Food Safety Authority has published a new assessment that concludes that most uses of neonicotinoid pesticides represent a risk to wild bees and honeybees. read more
For years the media interest on pesticides has focused almost exclusively on whether neonicotinoids are implicated in bee decline. Now … read more
A new study, published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, reports neonicotinoid pesticides and nutritional stress synergistically reduce survival in honey bees.
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The UK’s environment secretary Michael Gove, has announced that the UK will back a total ban on neonicotinoids across Europe. read more
Scientists publishing in Science examine the exposure of honeybees to neonicotinoids. read more
Publishing in Nature Ecology & Evolution, researchers looked at the neonicotinoid insecticide thiamethoxam and its impact on bumblebee colonies. They reported that exposure to thiamethoxam resulted in a reduction in the proportion of queen bees laying eggs and from this modelled possible effects on population dynamics. read more
In a new paper published in Science researchers assess country-specific effects of chronic neonicotinoid pesticides on honey bees and wild bees. read more
Neonicotinoid pesticides have been widely used to enhance crop production in the UK and around the world since the 1990s. … read more
Published in Nature, this review looks into the values of different pollinators on issues including food secutiry and biodiversity, their status and trends, risks from environmental pressures and the consequent management and policy response options to safeguard pollinators.
Publishing in Journal of Applied Ecology, a group of researchers examined the effect of exposure to three specific neonicotinoid pesticides on bumblebee colonies in a field setting and reported changes to colony numbers with some pesticides (for imidacloprid or thiamethoxam) more than with others (clothiandin). read more
Neonicotinoid insecticides have been implicated in the decline of bees, yet the evidence is derived from short-term laboratory studies on honeybees and bumblebees. Publishing in the journal Nature Communications scientists from the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology have investigated the long term, large scale impact of neonicotinoids on 62 wild bee species across England. read more
Neonicotinoid insecticides have been implicated in the decline of bees, yet the evidence is derived from short-term laboratory studies on honeybees and bumblebees. Scientists from the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology have investigated the long term, large scale impact of neonicotinoids on 62 wild bee species across England and are publishing in Nature Communications on August 16th. read more
The effect of neonicotinoids on the fertility of male honeybees is examined in a paper published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B in which the authors report that the insecticide reduced lifespan of the bees in question as well as sperm viability but not sperm quantity. read more
There is growing concern over the impact of the neonicotinoids to insect pollinators and how their loss may limit the ecosystem services that are vital to our food production (globally worth US$215 billion) and the stability of our natural environment. In a new study, published in Scientific Reports, researchers directly relate the effects of three neonicotinoids, at the level of individual brain cells to their impact on whole colonies of bumblebees placed at 5 different sites across Scotland. read more
There is growing concern over the impact of the neonicotinoids to insect pollinators and how their loss may limit the ecosystem services that are vital to our food production (globally worth US$215 billion) and the stability of our natural environment. In a new study, published in Scientific Reports, researchers directly relate the effects of three neonicotinoids, at the level of individual brain cells to their impact on whole colonies of bumblebees placed at 5 different sites across Scotland. The conclusions from this study demonstrate that these three neonicotinoids must be considered individually for their risk to bees. Most importantly, the research asks whether they are all toxic (when exposed chronically to field-relevant levels) to bumblebees under the conditions of a field experiment. read more
One of the concerns of the use of pesticides has been its impact on insect pollinators in ecosystems. Publishing in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B journal a group of researchers have reported that the pesticides that they tested affected the learning of honeybee and bumblebee differently and that this should be accounted for when creating accurate pollination models. read more
The US Environmental Protection Agency has released a risk assessment for a specific neonicotinoid which reports that the insecticide may pose a risk to hives. The agency is due to deliver three other such assessments later in the year. read more