New fungus strain could provide a chemical-free method to help honey bees Washington State University – A new fungus strain could provide a chemical-free method for eradicating mites that kill honey bees, according to a study published this month in Scientific Reports. A team led by Washington State University entomologists bred a strain of Metarhizium, […]
University of Minnesota – Many farmers are used to sharing big equipment–like tractors and other costly machinery — with neighboring farms. Sharing cuts costs, lowers the farmer’s debt load, and increases community wellbeing. But big machinery might not be the only opportunity for farmers to reap the benefits of cost-sharing with their neighbors. New research […]
Cornell University – Apple orchards surrounded by agricultural lands are visited by a less diverse collection of bee species than orchards surrounded by natural habitats, according to a new Cornell University-led study, published in the journal Science. In turn, apple production suffers when fewer, more closely-related species of bees pollinate an orchard. Production improves in orchards […]
Pesticide regulations designed to protect honeybees fail to account for potential health threats to the full diversity of bee species that are even more important pollinators of food crops and other plants. University of Guelph – Pesticide regulations designed to protect honeybees fail to account for potential health threats posed by agrochemicals to the full […]
Cornell University – When a Cornell-led team of scientists analyzed two dozen environmental factors to understand bumblebee population declines and range contractions, they expected to find stressors like changes in land use, geography or insecticides. Instead, they found a shocker: fungicides, commonly thought to have no impact. “Insecticides work; they kill insects. Fungicides have been […]
University of Guelph – Bumblebees are less able to start colonies when exposed to a common neonicotinoid pesticide, according to a new University of Guelph study. Prof. Nigel Raine has discovered that exposure to thiamethoxam reduces the chances of a bumblebee queen starting a new colony by more than a quarter. “Bumblebee queens that were […]
American Association for the Advancement of Science – In two of the first large-scale, field-realistic studies to date, researchers in Europe and Canada have affirmed what’s been hypothesized about neonicotinoids — that prolonged exposure to these insecticides negatively affects bees. Their results reveal that local environment and species influence the impact of these widely used […]
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