permaculture

[Lawrence London <lfljvenaura@gmail.com>]

Neonicotinoid Insecticide Reduces Queen Bees’ Ability To Lay Eggs by
Two-Thirds - "...jeopardizing the health and stability of entire bee
colonies"
<http://e360.yale.edu/digest/insecticide_neonicotinoids_queen_bee_eggs/4801/>
(e360.yale.edu <https://www.reddit.com/domain/e360.yale.edu/>)
Yale Environment 360: Popular Insecticide Reduces Queen Bees’ Ability To
Lay Eggs, Study Finds
http://e360.yale.edu/digest/insecticide_neonicotinoids_queen_bee_eggs/4801/
e360 digest
09 Sep 2016: Popular Insecticide Reduces
Queen Bees’ Ability To Lay Eggs, Study Finds
A queen bee surrounded by members of her colony.
A new study has found neonicotinoids, the world’s most commonly used
insecticide, cause queen honeybees to lay as much as two-thirds fewer eggs,
jeopardizing the health and stability of entire bee colonies. The research,
conducted by scientists at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and the
University of Minnesota, was recently published in the journal *Scientific
Reports* <http://www.nature.com/articles/srep32108>. "The queens are… the
only reproductive individual laying eggs in the colony," said lead author
Judy Wu-Smart
<http://news.unl.edu/newsrooms/today/article/that-stings-study-finds-insecticide-hurts-queen-bees-egg-laying-abilities/>.
"If her ability to lay eggs is reduced, that is a subtle effect that isn't
(immediately) noticeable, but translates to really dramatic consequences
for the colony." The scientists also found colonies exposed to
imidacloprid, a type of neonicotinoids, collected and stored less pollen
than insecticide-free colonies, and removed just 74 percent of
mite-infested or diseased pupae that can infect the entire hive, compared
to 95 percent removal by unexposed bees.