Tag Archives: bees

A quarter of all European bumblebee species threatened with extinction

Europe is still home to 68 different bumblebee species – of which according to IUCN 24 percent are now directly threatened with extinction and about half have clearly declining populations. The reasons: Habitat loss, agricultural pollution, climate change, and general … Continue reading →

Neonicotinoid insecticides again linked to honeybee CCD

New research has linked springtime die-offs of honeybees critical for pollinating food crops — part of the mysterious malady called colony collapse disorder (CCD) — with technology for planting corn coated with insecticides. The study, published in ACS’ journal Environmental Science & Technology, appears on the eve of spring planting seasons in some parts of Europe where farmers use the technology and widespread deaths of honeybees have occurred in the past.

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Bee honey naturally rich in lactic acid bacteria, perhaps our first probiotic food – CCD implications?

The stomachs of wild honey bees are full of healthy lactic acid bacteria that can fight bacterial infections in both bees and humans.

A collaboration between researchers at three universities in Sweden – Lund University, the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences and Karolinska Institutet – has produced findings that could be a step towards solving the problems of both bee deaths and antibiotic resistance.

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Closing in on CCD: a cocktail of cocktails is killing the bees

Although that would of course be much more convenient when trying to solve the problem, research shows Colony Collapse Disorder, or CCD, that sudden die-off of bee populations in Europe, North America and Asia, cannot be attributed to one single … Continue reading →

In case of CCD the pest could be worse than the pesticide: P450 enzymes help bees survive chemicals that kill parasite

Usually when we want to get rid of an insect or other arthropod we spray it with something nasty. And that is indeed what beekeepers do to kill varroa destructor, a mite that infects beehives and contributes to Colony Collapse … Continue reading →

CCD threatens supply of healthy foods more than staple and fast foods

‘Some 35 percent’ of the foods we eat [and two-thirds to three-quarters of the crop foods] are derived from flowering plants and trees that depend on pollination by insects. This often-cited percentage is used to stress the importance of bees … Continue reading →