The Elephant
The climate change and environmental emergency: a comprehensive resource for journalists, politicians, policy makers, activists and citizens
The ElephantThe climate change and environmental emergency: a comprehensive resource for journalists, politicians, policy makers, activists and citizens
Insect pollinators: The time is now for identifying species of greatest conservation need
2024-08-05 (or before) in wildlife.onlinelibrary.wiley.comRelatively few pollinating insects have appeared as Species of Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN) in State Wildlife Action Plans, decadal-scale blueprints for wildlife conservation efforts across the ...
Tagged under: Conservation | Bees | Insects
Plants and their pollinators are increasingly out of sync
2024-07-30 by in Grist.org: Climate. Justice. Solutions.As global temperatures rise and seasons shift, bees and other pollinators are missing critical connections with flowers and crops.
Tagged under: Bees
Where are all the butterflies this summer? Their absence is telling us something important | Tony Juniper
2024-07-13 in The GuardianThis isn’t down to one wet, cold British spring but a disturbing longer-term decline in Britain’s insects. Thankfully, we can help, says the campaigner Tony Juniper
Tagged under: Bees | Insects | Butterflies and Moths
Air pollution threatens key crop pollinators, study finds
2024-07-11 by in thenewlede.orgBy Shannon Kelleher Air pollution jeopardizes bees and other pollinators essential for food production, according to a new study that sheds light on a significant but underrecognized threat to beneficial insects. In a study published Thursday in the journal Nature Communications, researchers found that bees, as well as some moths and butterflies, became about a third less efficient at foraging for food, on average, after exposure to elevated air pollution levels. The findings were based on an analysis of data from 120 scientific papers on how 40 types of insects respond to ozone, nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide and parti...
Tagged under: Bees | Insects | Butterflies and Moths
Scientists reveal "major" new factor in bumblebee decline
2024-05-03 in NewsweekA study found that bumblebee nests may be getting too hot, and the species are struggling to thermoregulate these temperatures.
The shrill carder: once-common bumblebee heading for extinction
2024-04-11 in The GuardianBombus sylvarum is now found in only a few pockets as intensive farming destroys UK wildflower habitats
Tagged under: Bees | Insects | Extinction
Weatherwatch: how solar farms benefit bees and butterflies
2024-03-01 in The GuardianResearch shows pollinating insects thrive in solar parks, particularly where a variety of plants are flourishing
Tagged under: Insects | Bees | Butterflies and Moths
Beekeepers stung by wettest July on record
2023-09-18 (or before) in Belfast TelegraphBeekeepers are counting the cost of freak summer weather that left the insects and locally produced honey at risk.
Bees struggle to find flowers because of air pollution - University of Birmingham
2023-09-14 (or before) in University of Birmingham - A leading global universityA new study has found that air pollution is preventing pollinators finding flowers because it degrades the scent.
Tagged under: Bees
Sharp rise in Asian hornet sightings in UK causes alarm
2023-08-17 in The GuardianWildlife experts fear spread could devastate native bees, which the hornets dismember and eat
Tagged under: Wildlife | Insects | Bees
Bee Population Decline
2023-07-14 (or before) in osu.eduLooking for the latest buzz on how to help the bees? Look no further.
Tagged under: Insect Populations | Bees | Insects
Recent and future declines of a historically widespread pollinator linked to climate, land cover, and pesticides | Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
2023-07-14 (or before) in PNAS - Proceedings of the National Academy of ScienceThe acute decline in global biodiversity includes not only the loss of rare species, but also the rapid collapse of common species across many diff...
Tagged under: Climate Change | Bees | Insects | Collapse | Biodiversity Loss
Leicester study investigates pollution effect on bees - BBC News
2023-07-14 (or before) in BBCDr Hannah Sampson says air pollution's impact on bees could have a knock on effect for humans.
Tagged under: Bees
Pollinators: decline in numbers / RHS Gardening
2023-07-14 (or before) in RHS - Inspiring everyone to grow / RHS GardeningThere is evidence that populations of bees and other pollinators are less healthy and abundant than they have been. If action is not taken, pollinator declines will have serious implications for biodiversity, food production and the ornamental garden.
Tagged under: Wildlife | Bees | Health | Food Production and Consumption
New pesticides 'may have risks for bees' - BBC News
2023-07-14 (or before) in The BBCAttempts to find a new generation of pesticides to replace neonicotinoids have been dealt a potential blow.
Tagged under: Bees
Russia alarmed by large fall in bee populations - BBC News
2023-07-14 (or before) in The BBCPesticides are blamed for Russia's mass bee deaths, while French honey production is also down.
Tagged under: Bees | Russia | France
Bees get week early wakeup call from warming climate
2023-07-11 (or before) in EurekAlert! Science News ReleasesRising temperatures are causing British bees to wake up from hibernation almost a week earlier
Tagged under: Bees
US honeybees suffer second deadliest season on record
2023-06-23 in The GuardianNearly 50% of US bee colonies died off last year, although efforts have helped the overall bee population remain ‘relatively stable’
Tagged under: Wildlife | Bees | Insects
The Big Green Money Show - Birds, Bees and Business - Why Nature Matters (With The Wildlife Trusts and Landsec) - BBC Sounds
2023-04-15 (or before) in The BBCDeborah's barefoot walk, The Wildlife Trusts and one of the country's biggest landlords
Save Bees • Pollinator decline and how to help
2023-04-03 (or before) in Save Bees • Pollinator decline and how to helpLearn why pollinators are in trouble and how you can help. Healthy, happy bees need good homes with plenty of food and no poisons. Take simple steps today!
EU Court puts end to emergency use of bee-toxic pesticides
2023-02-07 (or before) in EURACTIVThe EU's highest court ruled on Thursday (19 January) that EU countries should no longer be allowed temporary exemptions for banned, bee-toxic neonicotinoid pesticides, putting half of all such derogations to an end.
Tagged under: Bees
Honey bee life spans are 50 percent shorter today than they were 50 years ago: A drop in longevity for lab-kept honey bees could help explain colony losses and lower honey production in recent decades
2022-12-23 (or before) in Science DailyA new study by entomologists shows that the lifespan for individual honey bees kept in a controlled, laboratory environment is 50% shorter than it was in the 1970s. As the first study to show an overall decline in honey bee lifespan potentially independent of environmental stressors, this work hints that genetics may be influencing the broader trends of higher colony turnover rates seen in the beekeeping industry.
Tagged under: Butterflies and Moths | Bees | Insects | Food Production and Consumption
Glyphosate weedkiller damages wild bee colonies, study reveals
2022-06-02 in The GuardianMost widely used pesticide in history harms critical ability of bumblebee to regulate nest temperature
Tagged under: Farming | Wildlife | Bees | Insects
UK overrules scientific advice by lifting ban on bee-harming pesticide
2022-03-01 in The GuardianCampaigners aghast as emergency exemption on use of thiamethoxam granted due to risk to sugar beet crop
Tagged under: Farming | Wildlife | Bees | Insects
Being Serious about Saving Bees
2021-12-28 (or before) in USDAPollinators are a vital part of agricultural production. In the United States, more than one-third of all crop production – 90 crops ranging from nuts to berries to flowering vegetables - requires insect pollination. Managed honey bee colonies are our primary pollinators, adding at least $15 billion a year by increasing yields and helping to ensure superior-quality harvests.
[PDF] Discrepancy between acute and chronic toxicity induced by imidacloprid and its metabolites in Apis mellifera. | Semantic Scholar
2021-11-22 (or before) in Semantic Scholar | AI-Powered Research ToolOral acute and chronic toxicity of imidacloprid and its main metabolites and their main metabolites were investigated in Apis mellifera to show the rapid appearance of neurotoxicity symptoms, such as hyperresponsiveness, hyperactivity, and trembling and led to hyporesponsiveness and hypoactivity. Imidacloprid is a systemic nitroguanidine insecticide that belongs to the neonicotinoid family. As an agonist of the acetylcholine receptor, it attacks the insect nervous system and is extremely effective against various sucking and mining pests. Oral acute and chronic toxicity of imidacloprid and its main metabolites (5-hydroxyimidaclo...
Pesticide and resource stressors additively impair wild bee reproduction | Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
2021-11-22 (or before) in Royal Society PublishingBees and other beneficial insects experience multiple stressors within agricultural landscapes that act together to impact their health and diminish their ability to deliver the ecosystem services on which human food supplies depend. Disentangling the ...
Tagged under: Bees | Insects | Health
Bees may take generations to recover from one exposure to insecticides
2021-11-22 in The GuardianStudy shows reduced reproduction and other negative impacts on performance of species
Tagged under: Farming | Wildlife | Bees | Insects
The importance of bees in the United Kingdom
2021-09-29 (or before) in YouTubeBee numbers are falling around the world. What's happening to the bee population in the United Kingdom and worldwide is a microcosm of climate change. Loss...
Tagged under: Climate Change | Bees
Farm pesticides killing more bees - study - BBC News
2021-08-08 (or before) in The BBCCommercial formulas containing multiple chemicals should require their own licences, researchers say.
The insect apocalypse: ‘Our world will grind to a halt without them’
2021-07-25 in The GuardianInsects have declined by 75% in the past 50 years – and the consequences may soon be catastrophic. Biologist Dave Goulson reveals the vital services they perform
Tagged under: Wildlife | Butterflies and Moths | Bees | Insects
‘Honeybees are voracious’: is it time to put the brakes on the boom in beekeeping?
2021-07-24 in The GuardianThe number of beehives in Britain’s cities is growing rapidly, putting pressure on native bees ‘that really need our help’, say scientists and experienced beekeepers
Tagged under: Wildlife | Bees | Insects
With Temperatures Rising, Can Animals Survive the Heat Stress?
2021-06-28 (or before) in Yale E360A growing number of studies show that warming temperatures are increasing mortality in creatures ranging from birds in the Mojave Desert, to mammals in Australia, to bumblebees in North America. Researchers warn that heat stress could become a major factor in future extinctions.
Tagged under: Birds | Extinction | Bees
Banned pesticide blamed for killing bees may be approved for fish farms
2021-05-27 in The GuardianGovernment agency appears to support introduction of system which uses insecticide US termed an ‘environmental hazard’
Tagged under: Farming | Fish | Wildlife | Bees | Insects
'Bee-killing' pesticide now will not be used on UK sugar beet fields
2021-03-03 in The GuardianGovernment gave emergency authorisation to a neonicotinoid earlier this year - but says chemical was not needed
Tagged under: Farming | Wildlife | Bees | Insects
Climate change: Why Norway, the UK and Canada are climate hypocrites - CNN
2021-02-19 (or before) by in CNNIn Oslo, street lamps are powered by renewables. To conserve energy, the smart lights dim when nobody is around. The Norwegian capital, like the rest of the country, is proud of its exceptional green credentials. Its public transportation system too is powered entirely by renewable energy. Two thirds of new cars sold in the city are electric. There's even a highway for bees.
Tagged under: Renewable Energy | Climate Change | Electric Cars | Bees | Cars
A quarter of all known bee species haven't been seen since the 1990s
2021-01-23 (or before) by in New ScientistHalve UK pesticide use to save insects, say conservationists
2020-07-08 in The GuardianWildlife Trusts report also calls for expansion of projects such as flower-rich road verges and butterfly reintroductions
Tagged under: Farming | Wildlife | Butterflies and Moths | Bees | Insects
‘Murder hornets’: race to protect North America's honeybees from giant invader
2020-06-25 in The GuardianAmateur beekeepers and scientists do ‘the whole CSI thing’ to stem the feared onslaught
Tagged under: Wildlife | Bees | Insects
Revealed: Pesticide giants make billions on toxic, bee-harming chemicals
2020-02-20 in Greenpeace UK - UnearthedGlobal pesticide giants make more than a third of their income from selling highly hazardous pesticides that threaten human health and the environment.
Tagged under: Bees | Greenpeace | Health
Bees may struggle in winds caused by global warming, study finds
2020-02-18 in The GuardianExperiment revealed increased wind speeds reduced the efficiency of their foraging
Tagged under: Wildlife | Bees | Insects
Bumblebees' decline points to mass extinction – study
2020-02-06 in The GuardianPopulations disappearing in areas where temperatures are getting hotter, scientists say
Tagged under: Wildlife | Bees | Insects | Insect Populations | Extinction
Almonds are out. Dairy is a disaster. So what milk should we drink?
2020-01-29 in The GuardianA glass of dairy milk produces almost three times more greenhouse gas than any plant-based milk. But vegan options have drawbacks of their own
Tagged under: Farming | Greenhouse Gases | Bees | Cattle and Dairy Farming | Health
Immediate, science-based community action can stop insect decline
2020-01-06 (or before) in Phys.org - News and Articles on Science and TechnologyThis year, German environmentalists collected 1.75 million signatures for a 'save the bees' law requiring an immediate transition toward organic farming. But to create healthy ecosystems worldwide, people in communities across the globe will need to take similar action based on empathy for insects—and not only for bees and butterflies—according to entomologists Yves Basset from the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute and Greg Lamarre from the University of South Bohemia, writing in Science. The authors present immediate, science-based actions to mitigate insect decline.
Tagged under: Farming | Butterflies and Moths | Bees | Insects | Health
Widespread losses of pollinating insects revealed across Britain
2019-03-26 in The GuardianWild bees and hoverflies lost from a quarter of the places they were found in 1980, study shows
Tagged under: Farming | Wildlife | Bees | Insects
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