Tag: bees
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Study Claims Honeybee Gut Bacteria “Perturbed” by Antibiotics
A study has purportedly suggested that antibiotic treatments for foulbrood and other pathogens can disrupt the gut microbiota of honeybees, increasing their susceptibility to opportunistic bacterial infections. Kasie Raymann, et al., “Antibiotic exposure perturbs the gut microbiota and elevates mortality in honeybees,” PLoS Biology, March 2017. To examine the effects of common bee antibiotics, University…
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Senators Urge Action on GAO Bee Health Report
U.S. Sens. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) have written a March 14, 2016, letter requesting that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) act on recommendations contained in a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report on bee health. Summarizing federal initiatives designed to improve bee health…
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#EFSA4Bees Takes Holistic Approach to Improving Bee Health
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has launched a website and blog “dedicated to its work on bee health.” Dubbed the #EFSA- 4Bees campaign, the new site is part of the agency’s MUST-B project, a collaborative venture among researchers, data analysts and regulators “with the ultimate goal of developing a software tool that can assess…
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As You Sow Praises Pollinator Protection Policies
Shareholder advocacy group As You Sow has reportedly withdrawn a shareholder resolution after General Mills Inc. agreed to “consolidate and disseminate guidance to growers of key commodities such as corn and soy on how to protect and minimize the impact of neonicotinoids and other pesticides to pollinators.” According to a July 8, 2015, press release,…
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White House Establishes Pollinator Health Task Force
The White House has issued a June 24, 2014, memorandum creating a federal strategy “to promote the health of honey bees and other pollinators.” Highlighting the critical role of pollinators in agriculture and the economy, the memorandum establishes an interagency Pollinator Health Task Force and directs members to develop a National Pollinator Health Strategy by…
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Environmental Groups Sue California, Petition EPA to Protect Bees
Environmental groups have brought actions in state court and before the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) seeking action to halt the use of certain insecticides that they claim are linked to the collapse of bee colonies. In California, Pesticide Action Network North America and other groups call on the state Department of Pesticide Registration to…
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CSIRO Uses RFI Sensors to Track Flight of the Honey Bee
The Australian Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) has reportedly launched a new research initiative designed to monitor honey bee behavior using tiny radio frequency identification (RFI) sensors. According to a January 15, 2014, CSIRO news release, researchers have for the first time fitted 5,000 bees in Hobart, Tasmania, with 2.5-by-2.5 millimeter sensors as…
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EFSA Finalizes Guidance on Pesticide-Related Risk to Bees
Following a request from the European Commission concerning the declining health of bees in Europe, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has published new guidance for assessing the potential risks to bees from the use of pesticides. Noting that a previous risk assessment for honeybees did not fully account for risks from chronic or repeat…