News tagged with colony collapse

Commonly used pesticide turns honey bees into 'picky eaters'

Biologists at UC San Diego have discovered that a small dose of a commonly used crop pesticide turns honey bees into "picky eaters" and affects their ability to recruit their nestmates to otherwise good sources of food.

Biology / Plants & Animals

created May 24, 2012 | popularity 4.3 / 5 (4) | comments 1 | with audio podcast

Use of imidacloprid - common pesticide - linked to bee colony collapse

The likely culprit in sharp worldwide declines in honeybee colonies since 2006 is imidacloprid, one of the most widely used pesticides, according to a new study from Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH).

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Apr 05, 2012 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (13) | comments 12 | with audio podcast

Pesticides not sole cause of declining bee numbers

(PhysOrg.com) -- Despite a growing worldwide clamor to ban pesticides linked to honey bee deaths, multiple factors contribute to the declining honey bee population, not just one class of insecticides, says Extension Apiculturist ...

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Mar 20, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Increased honey bee diversity means fewer pathogens, more helpful bacteria

A novel study of honey bee genetic diversity co-authored by an Indiana University biologist has for the first time found that greater diversity in worker bees leads to colonies with fewer pathogens and more ...

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Mar 12, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Chemical treatment for colony collapse disorder temporarily worsens viral infections in honeybees

(PhysOrg.com) -- Acaricide, a chemical used against Varroa mites that infect honeybees, appears to render bees more susceptible to deformed wing virus infections, according to research published in the January issue of the ...

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created Jan 20, 2012 | popularity 4 / 5 (2) | comments 0

Deadly fly parasite spotted for first time in honey bees

Honey bees can become the unwitting hosts of a fly parasite that causes them to abandon their hives and die after a bout of disoriented, "zombie-like" behavior, San Francisco State University researchers have ...

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Jan 03, 2012 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (13) | comments 11 | with audio podcast

A widely used bee antibiotic may harm rather than help

Honey bee populations have been mysteriously falling for at least five years in the United States, but the cause of so-called colony collapse disorder (CCD) is still largely unknown.

Biology / Ecology

created Nov 02, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Antibiotic dangers trap bees in a Catch 22

Honey bees are trapped in a Catch 22 where antibiotics used to protect them from bacterial illnesses ravaging hives are making them die from commonly used pesticides, some of which are used to ward-off bee-killing ...

Biology / Ecology

created Nov 02, 2011 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Native bees are better pollinators than honeybees

(PhysOrg.com) -- The honeybee has hogged the pollination spotlight for centuries, but native bees are now getting their fair share of buzz: They are two to three times better pollinators than honeybees, are ...

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Oct 25, 2011 | popularity not rated yet | comments 1

Beekeepers try to stop the pollinator's decline

Andrew Westrich lifted the top from a waist-high wood box in his suburban backyard.

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Aug 23, 2011 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (2) | comments 0

Breeding a better bee

The population of honeybees remains endangered, threatening the world's food supply, and scientists have decided that the best way to save the insects may be to breed a better bee.

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Jul 11, 2011 | popularity 4.2 / 5 (5) | comments 2 | with audio podcast

Common eastern bumblebee can boost pumpkin yields

(PhysOrg.com) -- Each grinning jack-o'-lantern starts with yellow pollen grains, ferried from a male to a female pumpkin flower by bees. Honeybee populations are in decline, but Cornell entomologist Brian ...

Biology / Ecology

created Jul 06, 2011 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Study finds new bee viruses, offers baseline to study colony collapse

A 10-month study of healthy honey bees by University of California, San Francisco scientists has identified four new viruses that infect bees, while revealing that each of the viruses or bacteria previously ...

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Jun 07, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Cell phones may be contributing to the honeybee population decline

(PhysOrg.com) -- In a new study published in Apidologie, Lausanne researcher and bee specialist Daniel Favre shares his findings of cell phones electromagnetic fields and their effects on the honeybee popula ...

Biology / Plants & Animals

created May 18, 2011 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (8) | comments 7 | with audio podcast report

Honeybees entomb to protect from pesticides

(PhysOrg.com) -- With the drastic rise in the disappearance of honeybee colonies throughout the world in recent years there has become a large focus on the study of honeybees and the effects of pesticides ...

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Apr 08, 2011 | popularity 4.9 / 5 (16) | comments 5 | with audio podcast report