Pesticides are in most pollen and honey samples collected from foraging bees in Massachusetts, researchers from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health said recently in a paper published in the Journal of Environmental Chemistry.
That is, more than 70 percent of the samples contained at least one neonicotinoid, a class of pesticides that has been implicated in Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD). In CCD, adult bees abandon their hives during winter.
“Data from this study clearly demonstrated the ubiquity of neonicotinoids in pollen and honey samples that bees are exposed to during the seasons when they are actively foraging across Massachusetts. Levels of neonicotinoids that we found in this study fall into ranges that could lead to detrimental health effects in bees, including CCD,” said Chensheng (Alex) Lu, an associate professor at Harvard Chan School and lead author of the study, in a release.
The significant losses of honey bee colonies since 2006 have scientists, policymakers, and others concerned because bees pollinate roughly one-third of crops worldwide.
Researchers analyzed pollen samples collected over time, during spring and summer when bees are busy foraging, from the same set of hives across the state of Massachusetts. In this way, scientists […]
Watch this video on YouTube: “Jared Diamond: Why societies collapse.” One of the main points he mentions is the ability of the elite to do things that benefit themselves to the detriment of society as a whole. Eventually this elite will be overthrown.
I am so glad to see this article posted! Without oceans we won’t have oxygen. Without bees we won’t have food. Without a consciousness we won’t survive … Plain and simple.