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Bee deaths caused by pesticides?
Key Excerpts from Article on Website of New York Times
Posted: April 2nd, 2012
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/30/science/neocotinoid-pestic...
Scientists have been alarmed and puzzled by declines in bee populations in the United States and other parts of the world. They have suspected that pesticides are playing a part, but to date their experiments have yielded conflicting, ambiguous results. In Thursdays issue of the journal Science, two teams of researchers published studies suggesting that low levels of a common pesticide can have significant effects on bee colonies. One experiment, conducted by French researchers, indicates that the chemicals fog honeybee brains, making it harder for them to find their way home. The other study, by scientists in Britain, suggests that they keep bumblebees from supplying their hives with enough food to produce new queens. The authors of both studies contend that their results raise serious questions about the use of the pesticides, known as neonicotinoids. I personally would like to see them not being used until more research has been done, said David Goulson, an author of the bumblebee paper who teaches at the University of Stirling, in Scotland. If it confirms what weve found, then they certainly shouldnt be used when theyre going to be fed on by bees. Environmentalists say that both studies support their view that the insecticides should be banned. The insecticides, introduced in the early 1990s, have exploded in popularity; virtually all corn grown in the United States is treated with them. Neonicotinoids are taken up by plants and moved to all their tissues including the nectar on which bees feed.
Note: For many disturbing reports from reliable sources on the mysterious mass deaths of animals, click here.
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