President Obama Announces Initiative to Save Honey Bees, Targets Pesticides

President Obama on Friday announced plans to save endangered honey bees and other pollinators, for the first time ordering a probe into new types of pesticides that some local governments and 15 European Union nations have restricted or banned.

The long-awaited plan creates a “Pollinator Health Task Force” that has 180 days to come up […]

Mystery Malady Kills More Bees, Heightening Worry on Farms

 

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. — A mysterious malady that has been killing honeybees en masse for several years appears to have expanded drastically in the last year, commercial beekeepers say, wiping out 40 percent or even 50 percent of the hives needed to pollinate many of the nation’s fruits and vegetables.

A conclusive explanation so far […]

Coalition Sues EPA For Failing to Control Systemic Pesticides

 

A year ago, a coalition of environmental groups and beekeepers petitioned the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to protect bees from harmful pesticides. Today four beekeepers and five environmental and consumer groups filed a lawsuit against the EPA in Federal District Court. The lawsuit charges the agency with failing to protect pollinators from dangerous […]

Are Zombie Bees Infiltrating Your Neighborhood?

Zombie bees are not science fiction. They are real—and real threat to already-threatened U.S. honeybee populations.

Honeybees (Apis mellifera) in California and South Dakota have been observed acting zombielike, wandering away from their hives at night and crawling around blindly in circles.

These insects have been rendered insensate by a parasitizing fly that lays eggs […]

Beeswax Filling May Be Oldest Hint of Dentistry

An ancient cracked tooth repaired with a filling made of beeswax may be the earliest known example of therapeutic dentistry, researchers say.

The tooth is 65 centuries old and was part of a man’s jaw found more than 100 years ago in Slovenia.

Definite evidence of ancient dentistry is rare. The oldest examples are 7,500- […]

Scientists Discover Bees Can ‘Turn Back Time’ & Reverse Brain Aging

Scientists at Arizona State University have discovered that older honey bees effectively reverse brain aging when they take on nest responsibilities typically handled by much younger bees. While current research on human age-related dementia focuses on potential new drug treatments, researchers say these findings suggest that social interventions may be used to slow or […]

Bee Advocate Leads Grassroots Effort Against Systemic Pesticides

As a growing body of research points to a link between colony collapse disorder and the class of pesticides known as neonicotinoids, a backyard gardener in Virginia has taken to the Internet in a grassroots effort to have Bayer’s neonicotinoid pesticides taken off the market.

Susan Mariner, who grew up working the garden with […]