When people think of pollination, they most often are thinking of commercial honeybees. but they are in fact only a small portion of pollinators, and of bees. Wild bees account for the majority of pollination including valuable crops, or about… »
Highlights / bees
Economy, Environment & Animal Life, Health, International, Internet, Science & Technology
Insecticide effect on wild bees
Neonicotinoids, one of the most popular insecticides in agricultural use worldwide, has often been claimed as a major factor in commercial bee colony collapse. The vast majority of research has focussed on “neonics” and honeybees, as they nest in colonies… »
Environment & Animal Life, Society
Did you know mosquitoes and bats were pollinators?
This week is Pollinator Week in Canada but also in the rest of the world. The celebration has been going on for more than 10 years now and it aims at focusing everyone’s attention on the important role that pollinators… »
Economy, Environment & Animal Life, International
Warning from the U.N. – the future of bees is the future of food
World Bee Day You may have missed it but this past Monday was the second annual “World Bee Day”. In announcing the day last year, initiated by Slovenia, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) Director-General José Graziano da Silva… »
Economy, Environment & Animal Life, International, Internet, Science & Technology
Another bee species under critical threat
While there have been several stories over the years of serious declines in honey bee populations, the state of the many wild bees is almost impossible to gauge but is thought to also be seriously compromised. Wild bees are critical… »
Canada’s failure to ban pesticide called incomprehensible
The Canadian government issued restrictions on the use of nicotine-based pesticides called neonics on April 11, 2019, but environmental groups say they should instead be banned outright. These pesticides were banned for outdoor use by the European Union last year… »
Some neonic pesticides banned, others restricted to protect bees
Canada’s health department has decided to cancel the use of some neonicotinoid pesticides and to change the conditions of use for others in order to protect bees and other pollinators. It says remaining uses such as treatment on canola seeds… »
Economy, Environment & Animal Life
Beekeepers report massive winter losses
Concern for crop pollination It could be the worst year on record for beekeepers in much of Canada. The Ontario Beekeepers Association reports that among Ontario’s 3,000 beekeepers about 900 beekeepers responded to a survey showing seven in ten said… »
Environment & Animal Life, International, Society
Ban neonic pesticides, protect bees as did EU, urge groups
The European Union has banned all outdoor uses of neonicotinoid pesticides to protect bees, and Canada should do the same, argue several Canadian environmental groups. Scientific studies have long linked the use of these chemicals to the decline of honeybees,… »
Environment & Animal Life, Society
Banned pesticides found in flowers sold in Ottawa
An environmental group has complained to the Ontario government that it has found banned pesticides on flowers sold to gardeners in Ottawa. The pesticides include residues of neonicotinoids which are harmful to bees and human health. The non-profit group, Friends… »
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