(ANTIMEDIA) — Because 90 percent of modern crops rely on pollination, honey bees are vitally important to ecosystems. Due to mites, pesticides, and a slew of other harms, however, the numbers of colonies in the U.S. and Europe have declined a staggering 90 percent over the past two decades.
The rusty-patched Bumble bee (Bombus affinis) has become the first bee species to be officially placed on the endangered species list (Photo: Dan Mullen/Flickr)
Bee populations have been in decline across the world for a number of years, but the reason for this drop off is hotly disputed.
Some scientists and NGOs have pinned the blame on pesticides known as neonicotinoids.
Meanwhile, the chemical companies which make neonics have said the parasitic mite Varroa Destructor is harming bees.
Here's what they should have been talking about instead.
France gets it when it comes to pesticides
The post French Lawmakers Just Approved a Plan to Ban Bee-Killing Pesticides appeared first on The Anti-Media.
“It’s clear that pollinators are in trouble.”
The post America’s Wild Bee Populations Are Dwindling at Alarming Rates appeared first on The Anti-Media.
Want proof that our representatives are likely taking handouts from Syngenta, Bayer, and other Big Ag makers of bee and butterfly killing neonicotinoids? Elected representative Rodney Davis of Illinois, who also happens to be the bee health committee chairman appointed to study pesticide and herbicide connections to colony collapse disorder, is singing the praises of neonicotinoids (neonics).
A formal letter to the United States Department of Agriculture reports that scientists are being harassed and their research on bee-killing pesticides is being censored or suppressed by the Monsanto-infiltrated agency (the USDA). Surprised, anyone?
According to a federal survey, more than two out of five American honeybee colonies died in the past year, marking the worst die off in almost a decade.
