Nature & Environment

Mystery bee deaths accelerate

By T.K. Randall
March 31, 2013 ·  44 comments

Image Credit: Aaron1a12 Scientists have been scratching their heads since bees started to die off mysteriously over the last few years. Despite extensive research in to the cause of what is now known as "colony collapse disorder", researchers have been unable to agree upon a conclusive explanation. Some believe that the affliction is down to new types of pesticides known as neonicotinoids that are incorporated in to the plants themselves, however this has yet to be confirmed.

Now the problem appears to be getting worse, spelling potential catastrophe for the bees themselves and for the all the plants that they pollinate. "They looked so healthy last spring," said beekeeper Bill Dahle. "We were so proud of them. Then, about the first of September, they started to fall on their face, to die like crazy. We've been doing this 30 years, and we've never experienced this kind of loss before."[!gad]Scientists have been scratching their heads since bees started to die off mysteriously over the last few years. Despite extensive research in to the cause of what is now known as "colony collapse disorder", researchers have been unable to agree upon a conclusive explanation. Some believe that the affliction is down to new types of pesticides known as neonicotinoids that are incorporated in to the plants themselves, however this has yet to be confirmed.

Now the problem appears to be getting worse, spelling potential catastrophe for the bees themselves and for the all the plants that they pollinate. "They looked so healthy last spring," said beekeeper Bill Dahle. "We were so proud of them. Then, about the first of September, they started to fall on their face, to die like crazy. We've been doing this 30 years, and we've never experienced this kind of loss before."

Source: New York Times | Comments (44)

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