honeybees – News Stories About honeybees - Page 3

Oct 7, 2010 7:30 AM CDT

Honeybee Killer Finally Found

Colonies collapsing due to fungus-virus combination

(Newser) - For years, experts have been trying to figure out what is killing all the honeybees—and they may finally have an answer. Since 2006, 20% to 40% of US bee colonies have collapsed, and suspected causes have included genetically modified corn , pesticides , and bad weather . New research, however, points to...

Honeybees Stung
by Bad Winter,
Pesticides

Mar 24, 2010 4:05 AM CDT

Honeybees Stung by Bad Winter, Pesticides

4-year run of dropping numbers just got worse

(Newser) - Beleaguered honeybees are having a harder time than ever before after an especially harsh winter and heavy pesticides discovered in their hives and pollen. A massive die-off of the valuable creatures is topping off 4 years of troubling population declines. Scientists are trying to nail down the exact mechanism causing...

Bees Can Count, Scientists Claim—Up to 4, That Is

Oct 27, 2008 10:45 AM CDT

Bees Can Count, Scientists Claim—Up to 4, That Is

But they cannot go beyond 4

(Newser) - Honey bees can count up to four, Australian researchers have found, but no higher. In a University of Queensland study, bees repeatedly flew to the same marked spot in a tunnel, even when it did not hold food, Reuters reports. "We find that if you train them to the...

Bayer Knew Pesticide Killed Bees, Critics Charge

Aug 26, 2008 8:35 PM CDT

Bayer Knew Pesticide Killed Bees, Critics Charge

(Newser) - A German prosecutor is investigating allegations that chemical giant Bayer CropScience knowingly sold a pesticide that kills honeybees, the Raleigh News & Observer reports. The investigation follows complaints from German beekeepers and environmentalists that the company covered up incriminating data on chlothianidine. In the US, meanwhile, an environmental group sued...

Vegans: To Bee or Not to Bee?

Opinion

Jul 31, 2008 7:15 PM CDT

Vegans: To Bee or Not to Bee?

Debate over bee explotation risks deluting animal rights message

(Newser) - Although many vegans view buttered toast and milk as sacrilegious snack fare, a growing “flexitarian” attitude could loosen up the menu to include honey, writes Daniel Engber for Slate. Vegan hardliners argue consumption of the beekeeping byproduct amounts to supporting forced labor, while nectarous proponents counter that such logic...

Vanishing Bees Reveal Dangers of Pesticides

opinion

Jul 30, 2008 6:20 PM CDT

Vanishing Bees Reveal Dangers of Pesticides

Why won't the US do the right thing, ban dangerous products?

(Newser) - The rapid, mysterious deaths of billions of honeybees demand a closer look at how we use and control pesticides, Al Meyerhoff writes in the Los Angeles Times. A family of toxic chemicals called neonictonoids—led by two Bayer pesticides called Gaucho and Poncho—may be killing off the insects, but...

Bee Die-Off Threatens Dinner, Dessert

Feb 18, 2008 9:02 PM CST

Bee Die-Off Threatens Dinner, Dessert

Colony collapse means trouble for fruits, nuts—and ice cream

(Newser) - The ongoing mystery of the diminishing honeybee population is threatening an important part of the American diet: ice cream. Bee colonies have been disappearing at a rapid rate, potentially causing problems with supplies of vegetables as well as fruit and nuts, which Haagen Dazs says may keep it from offering...

Virus Causes Buzz in Bee Caper

Sep 6, 2007 8:48 PM CDT

Virus Causes Buzz in Bee Caper

Breakthrough may help explain billions of apian deaths

(Newser) - The mysterious deaths of billions of honeybees now has a new leading suspect, scientists say: a newcomer to the US called Israeli acute paralysis virus. And as most stricken colonies test positive for the disease, the lead seems promising, the AP reports. The deaths have hit between 50% and 90%...

Modified Corn Could Be Killing The Bees

Mar 29, 2007 10:57 AM CDT

Modified Corn Could Be Killing The Bees

"Built-in pesticides" linked to disappearing honeybees

(Newser) - Genetically modified corn is the culprit in the disappearance of honeybees, according to a theory offered by a beekeeping expert, says Salon. In a German study, the corn itself, which contains built-in pesticides, didn't kill the bees, but it seems to have damaged their intestines, making them vulnerable to...