US EditionBees on the brink
PICKAWAY COUNTY, OHIO, JUL 25 – Scientists link rising temperatures, parasites, and habitat loss to a 56% decline in U.S. honeybee colonies, threatening crop pollination and prompting urgent research needs.
- Early data from the yearly U.S. Beekeeping Survey revealed that nearly 56% of managed bee colonies were lost this year, marking the most significant decline recorded since the survey began in 2010.
- The losses stem from factors like habitat loss, pesticide use, diseases, and climate change, while the Trump administration proposed a budget eliminating funding for critical bee research.
- Experts, including Jon Harrison of Arizona State University and Kevin McCluney of Bowling Green State University, explained that bees avoid heat like humans but still struggle to perform normal activities amid rising temperatures.
- Harrison warned his research would halt if funding cuts proceed and hopes studies continue in Europe and China to prevent extreme declines, while Sen. Jeff Merkley called pollinators in grave danger and vowed to fight for funding.
- The pollinator decline threatens crop pollination and could cause prices for fruits, vegetables, nuts, coffee, and chocolate to rise, illustrating urgent economic and ecological risks from bee losses.
13 Articles
13 Articles
Bees trying to cope with warming Earth
WILLIAMSPORT, Ohio — Sweat covers Isaac Barnes's face under his beekeeper's veil as he hauls boxes of honeycomb from his hives to his truck. It's a workout in what feels like a sauna as the late-morning June temperatures rise.
Winston-Salem Journal
News & RecordBees under increasing stress with warming Earth
WILLIAMSPORT, Ohio — Sweat covers Isaac Barnes's face under his beekeeper's veil as he hauls boxes of honeycomb from his hives to his truck. It's a workout in what feels like a sauna as the late-morning June temperatures rise.
Science Daily
Bees on the brink
Using an innovative robotic platform to observe bees' behavior, researchers showed that, following exposure to neonicotinoid pesticides -- the most commonly-used class of pesticides in agriculture -- bees spent less time nursing larvae and were less social that other bees. Additional tests showed that exposure impaired bees ability to warm the nest, and to build insulating wax caps around the colony.
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