UN alarmed at huge deline in bee numbers

The UN on Thursday expressed alarm at a huge decline in bee colonies under a multiple onslaught of pests and pollution, urging an international effort to save the pollinators that are vital for food crops.

Reusing failed bee colony resources may curb rearing of queens

As pollinators of flowers, trees and more than 50 crops, whereby they add an estimated $34 billion per year to the U.S. economy, honey bees offer value both ecological and economic—even before accounting for their signature ...

Common agricultural chemicals shown to impair honey bees' health

Commercial honey bees used to pollinate crops are exposed to a wide variety of agricultural chemicals, including common fungicides which impair the bees' ability to fight off a potentially lethal parasite, according to a ...

Life is sweet for beekeepers in Greece, but for how long?

The rosemary season has ended, but sage is in full bloom. In the fragrant hills of the Peloponnese in southern Greece, after a few sharp turns along a path, Nikos Reppas' old car arrives at bee heaven: a field full of violet ...

Using artificial intelligence to save bees

A beekeeper teamed up with the Signal Processing Laboratory 5 and a group of EPFL students to develop an app that counts the number of Varroa mites in beehives. This parasite is one of the two main threats – along with ...

Winter honey bee losses decline

Total losses of managed honey bee colonies from all causes dropped to 21.9 percent nationwide for the 2011/2012 winter, a decline of some 8 percentage points or 27 percent from the approximately 30 percent average loss beekeepers ...

EU court backs angry honeymaker in GM pollen row

The presence of pollen from GM maize in honey, even in minuscule quantities, renders farm produce commercially void in the European Union, the bloc's top court said Tuesday.

Sex life may hold key to honeybee survival

The number and diversity of male partners a queen honeybee has could help to protect her children from disease, say University of Leeds scientists, who are investigating possible causes of the widespread increase in bee deaths ...

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