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Below is the complete archive of articles related to this topic, sorted by date.

What’s missing from claims that neonicotinoids are killing bees, birds and fish?

Criticism of pesticides is often undeserved -- and sometimes absolutely bizarre ...

Viewpoint: Wild bees on the decline? Lack of evidence challenges popular environmentalist narrative

'We can’t be simultaneously in the midst of a pollinator crisis threatening our ability to grow food and see continually ...
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Viewpoint: How a small group of scientists and pliable media created a ‘catastrophe narrative’ that hurts bees and farmers

The scientists who glommed onto the “bee-pocalypse” narrative never bothered to go back and correct the record ...

Neonic pesticide thiacloprid has no detectable negative impact on bumblebees, field study shows

In a field study, the researchers Maj Rundlöf, Lund University, and Ola Lundin, the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, have ...
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First plants didn’t evolve flower color to attract pollinators, study suggests

Flowering plants feature a wondrous array of colors, the primary purpose of which is to attract insect pollinators. But this ...

Pesticides endanger humans, animals, beneficial insects? Rethinking simplistic notions, understanding trade-offs in sustainability and health

As much as pesticides are a threat to certain ecosystems, they’re also responsible for providing the planet with food in ...

Bill reinstating neonicotinoid pesticide ban on wildlife refuges gains traction in Congress

A bill that would reinstate a regulation banning certain pesticides from wildlife refuges was approved by the House Committee on ...
hummingbird bee crisis

Challenging media narrative about the ‘birds and the bees’—neither faces serious threats from neonicotinoids or other crop chemicals

Discarding this valuable crop protection tool is a questionable strategy ...

Winter honeybee losses cut in half since 2012 as beekeepers battle deadly varroa mite

It looks as though the period of alarmingly high winter mortality in honeybees is over. And a long-term study by ...
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Neonic pesticides offer negligible benefits to farmers? ‘Nonsense,’ says Iowa soybean grower

Most people would say that life is unpredictable. We have our plans and routines, but there’s no way to tell ...
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Fifth US retailer announces plan to ‘phase out’ neonic pesticides from supply chain

Another food retailer has announced a plan to minimize its use of pesticides in a bid to help protect pollinators, ...

Study claiming neonic pesticides harm wild birds has no relevance to real-world conditions, plant geneticist argues

Capturing wild birds and force-feeding 3-10% of a lethal dose (of anything) is cruel. It’s not surprising birds would become ...

Global consensus finds neonicotinoids not driving honeybee health problems. Why is Europe determined to ban them?

Why is Europe allowing what has been called 'a bizarrely one-sided piece of politicized science' to determine agricultural policy? ...

We need pollinators to grow food in space, but bees may not survive harsh extraterrestrial environment, study shows

One of the world’s newest space analogs is inside a white ziggurat on top of a former nuclear bunker in ...

The Beepocalypse that wasn’t? Colony collapse disorder had ‘very small’ effects on commercial pollinators, study finds

Though colony collapse disorder has generated a great deal of concern, the phenomenon has had “very small effects” on commercial ...

EU lawmakers: New bee safety rules won’t protect pollinators from neonic pesticides long term

The European Parliament on [October 23] blocked a diluted proposal by the 28-nation bloc’s executive arm on protecting bees from ...

Are neonicotinoid seed treatments critical for protecting crops—or unnecessary, with potential to harm bees?

If neonic seed treatments don’t increase yields, reducing their use to limit potential harm to bees would be an easier ...

EU bans neonic insecticide thiacloprid after 2020, citing threats to human reproductive health, bees

EU countries [Ocotber 22] voted not to extend the license of the insecticide thiacloprid when it expires at the end ...

Farm biodiversity helps control pests without chemicals, boosts crop yields, study shows

Ecologists and biologists compared data of about 1,500 agricultural fields around the world, including corn fields in the American plains, ...

New ‘superfood’ makes bees better pollinators—boosting crop yields up to 90%

Argentina-based startup Beeflow has developed a special nutrient-packed formula for bees meant to boost their immune systems and make them ...

Rapeseed farmers benefit from honeybees more than pesticides, French study finds

For European rapeseed farmers, honey bees buzzing around fields may outweigh the benefits of using pesticides to fight insect damage, ...

Do farmers really need neonic insecticides? Study sparks debate over pesticides’ future

New research has found a widely used and increasingly controversial insecticide has “negligible” benefits for commercially grown soybeans. Pesticide makers ...

Honeybees, varroa mites and pesticides: Entomologist explains what you need to know

[O]n Florida Matters, we talk with Jamie Ellis, Professor of Entomology and director of honey bee research at the University ...
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German government, farm group face off over impact of potential glyphosate ban

The German agriculture ministry strenuously rubbished a claim by farmers association DBV that the country’s new insect protection plan, which ...
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Viewpoint: Do neonicotinoid insecticides really boost crop yields? New study raises doubts

Ever year, farmers in the United States devote at least 80 million acres, a combined landmass three-quarters the size of ...
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Viewpoint: 5 reasons there’s a ‘civil war’ brewing between organic food advocates

There’s something of a civil war brewing in the organic movement. On one side are industry boosters boasting about how ...
Bee on canola

EU rapeseed could recover from poor summer harvest, but neonic insecticide ban poses ‘painful’ challenge

Rapeseed sowings in major EU producers could increase after this summer’s poor harvest although restrictions on insecticides are causing problems ...