Tag: pesticide

Bees get hooked on harmful pesticide: study

PARIS, France (AFP) — Bumblebees acquire a taste for food laced with a pesticide known to harm them, according to a study suggesting the chemicals pose an even greater threat to pollinators than previously thought. In experiments, researchers showed that bees initially put off by sugar water containing neonicotinoids — the most widely-used class of insecticide worldwide — soon started seeking them out to the exclusion of untainted food. The findings were published Wednesday in […]

Bee-harming pesticides in 75 percent of honey worldwide: study

by Kerry Sheridan Agence France Presse MIAMI, United States (AFP) — Traces of pesticides that act as nerve agents on bees have been found in 75 percent of honey worldwide, raising concern about the survival of these crucial crop pollinators, researchers said Thursday. Human health is not likely at risk from the concentrations detected in a global sampling of 198 types of honey, which were below what the European Union authorizes for human consumption, said […]

New study links common pesticide to bee deaths

by Jean-Louis Santini Agence France-Presse WASHINGTON DC, United States (AFP) – Two of the most extensive field studies conducted to date in Europe and Canada have confirmed the hypothesis that neonicotinoid insecticides are harmful to bees and other pollinating species. The results, published Thursday in the United States journal Science, also reveal that local environments can mitigate the impact of the pesticide, which is widely used in farming despite being dubbed a “bee killer.” The chemical […]