Eclectic Perambulations in the Noosphere
Honeybee image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons/Gideon Pisanty
"Farmers worldwide have been using one popular neonicotinoid, imidacloprid, for about a decade to keep harmful insects off their cotton, corn, grains, potatoes, rice, vegetables and other crops. Like other neonicotinoids it targets the nervous system of insects, resulting in paralysis and death. Because honeybees (Apis mellifera) are insects, too, biologists have long suspected neonicotinoids as a possible force in colony collapse disorder."
"Some of the world's most commonly used pesticides are killing bees by damaging their ability to navigate and reducing numbers of queens, research suggests. Scientific groups in the UK and France studied the effects of neonicotinoids, which are used in more than 100 nations on farm crops and in gardens. The UK team found the pesticides caused an 85% drop in queen production."
Image Credit: Kadri Puna
"The insecticide clothianidin is believed to be killing many bees and contributing to colony collapse disorder by some beekeepers and scientists. Commercial beekeepers and environmental organizations have banded together to ask the EPA to ban clothiandin – one of the neconicotoids – a group of chemicals that affect the central nervous systems of insects. They also weaken the immune systems of bees, which makes them more susceptible to diseases and death. One beekeeper said clothiandin exposure is like giving bees AIDs, because of the impact on their immune systems.
"Bees have different “personalities”, with some showing a stronger willingness or desire to seek adventure than others, according to a study by entomologists at the University of Illinois.
The researchers found that thrill-seeking is not limited to humans and other vertebrates. The brains of honeybees that were more likely than others to seek adventure exhibited distinct patterns of gene activity in molecular pathways known to be associated with thrill-seeking in humans."
Honeybee populations have been in serious decline for years, and Purdue University scientists may have identified one of the factors that cause bee deaths around agricultural fields.
Analyses of bees found dead in and around hives from several apiaries over two years in Indiana showed the presence of neonicotinoid insecticides, which are commonly used to coat corn and soybean seeds before planting. The research showed that those insecticides were present at high concentrations in waste talc that is exhausted from farm machinery during planting.
"Zombie bees found in California could provide clues to colony collapse disorder.
It may sound like some truly bad straight-to-DVD movie, but Scientific American is reporting the discovery of zombie honeybees in Northern California, which may provide a clue in the search behind colony collapse disorder.
A research article recently published in Plos One, a peer-reviewed science site, stated that the parasitic phorid fly was found to be using honeybees as parasitic hosts, laying eggs inside the bees.
The parasitized bees started to act strange -- venturing out of their hives at night and moving in aimless circles -- like zombies -- before eventually dying.
In a further creepy note, according to the Plos One article, "seven days later up to 13 phorid larvae emerge from each dead bee and pupate away from the bee.""
