Massive declines in insect biodiversity and biomass are reported from many regions and habitats. In urban areas, creation of native wildflower meadows is one option to support insects and reduce maintenance costs of urban green spaces. However, benefits for insect conservation may depend on previous land use, and the size …
The world’s most widely used insecticide is an inadvertent contraceptive for bees, cutting live sperm in males by almost 40%, according to research. The study also showed the neonicotinoid pesticides cut the lifespan of the drones by a third. The scientists say the discovery provides one possible explanation for the …
Air pollutants interact with and break down plant-emitted scent molecules, which insect pollinators such as bees use to locate needed food, says a new study. The pollution-modified plant odours can confuse bees and, as a result, bees' foraging time increases and pollination efficiency decreases, the study said. This happens because …
An application to use neonicotinoid pesticides to protect winter oilseed rape has been refused by government for the second time. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) concluded that the request did not meet the criteria for emergency use of two seed treatment agents to fight cabbage stem …
Contrary to previous belief, the population size of a bee specie has increased dramatically during the global warming following the last Ice Age, finds a study. The Australian small carpenter bee -- found in sub-tropical, coastal and desert areas in Australia -- has been flourishing in the period of global …
Two of the world’s most widely used insecticides cause significant harm to bumblebee colonies, a new study has found, but a third had no effect. The work shows the distinct effects of each type of neonicotinoid pesticide, from cuts in live bees and eggs to changed sex ratios and numbers …
Insect pollinators are essential for both the production of a large proportion of world crops and the health of natural ecosystems. As important pollinators, bumblebees must learn to forage on flowers to feed both themselves and provision their colonies. Increased use of pesticides has caused concern over sublethal effects on …
Elephant populations in southern Africa's national parks have increased dramatically in recent years. As a result of their booming numbers, vast dietary requirements and expansive ranges, elephants sometimes roam outside the borders of protected areas in search of food. Farmers in communities surrounding national parks rely heavily on subsistence agriculture …
Researchers point to concerns over pesticides as diseases as bee numbers drop while farmland requiring the pollinators increases Wild bees, crucial pollinators for many crops, are on the decline in some of the main agricultural regions of the United States, according to scientists who produced the first national map of …
A decline in wildlife is threatening core functions of the ecosystem that are vital for human wellbeing, researchers behind an unprecedented study of biodiversity in the UK have warned. Climate change and habitat loss are leading to a reduction in biodiversity, with species that act as pollinators and natural pest …
Bees have been managed and utilised for honey production for centuries and, more recently, pollination services. Since the mid 20th Century, the use and production of managed bees has intensified with hundreds of thousands of hives being moved across countries and around the globe on an annual basis. However, the …
Ecological partnerships, or mutualisms, are globally widespread, sustaining agriculture and biodiversity. Mutualisms evolve through the matching of functional traits between partners, such as tongue length of pollinators and flower tube depth of plants. Long-tongued pollinators specialize on flowers with deep corolla tubes, whereas shorter-tongued pollinators generalize across tube lengths. Losses …
On Thursday, a federal appeals court overturned the EPA's decision to approve marketing of sulfoxaflor, a pesticide that acts like the same neonicotinoids class associated with bee declines. "In this case, given the precariousness of bee populations, leaving the EPA's registration of sulfoxaflor in place risks more potential environmental harm …
Landcare Research is opening a survey as an initial means of assessing the causes behind bee colony losses in New Zealand. Thankfully, in New Zealand the number of hives have been increasing. However, bee populations are currently on a drastic decline in many other parts of the world - and …
Landscape-wide research by former UK government agency on oilseed rape fields in England and Wales shows link between neonicotinoids and honeybee colony losses A new study provides the first evidence of a link between neonicotinoid pesticides and escalating honeybee colony losses on a landscape level. The study found the increased …
It's not exactly an uncommon sentiment to believe that pesticides are causing a lot more environmental harm than big chemical lets on. After all, some of the most popular pesticides in agriculture, neonicotinoids, have turned out to be a driving force behind pollinator decline around the world. Now new research …
No, it isn't the End of Days, but we are likely living during what experts will later refer to as one of the largest extinction events in Earth's history - an unexpected addition to prehistory's "Big Five" mass extinctions. Conservationists and wildlife biologists alike are bound to be disappointed. A …
Farmers allowed to use two neonicotinoid pesticides on their crop for 120 days despite concerns over serious risk to bees and other pollinators Farmers will be able to use blacklisted pesticides linked to serious harm in bees after the UK government temporarily lifted an EU ban. Opponents called the decision …
Anthropogenic declines of animal pollinators and the associated effects on human nutrition are of growing concern. We quantified the nutritional and health outcomes associated with decreased intake of pollinator-dependent foods for populations around the world. The researchers assembled a database of supplies of 224 types of food in 156 countries. …
For many species, geographical ranges are expanding toward the poles in response to climate change, while remaining stable along range edges nearest the equator. Using long-term observations across Europe and North America over 110 years, we tested for climate change–related range shifts in bumblebee species across the full extents of …
The new studies have raised concerns about fungicides: in one, foraging on fungicide-dosed flowers harmed bumblebees. Colonies were smaller, their workers tinier, their queens seemed sickly, it found. In the other, exposures were linked to declines in wild bees living in agriculture-intensive areas. They are only two studies, and far …
