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Pesticides to blame for honeybee colony collapse disorder, not mites
Though mites do kill honeybees in their hives, pesticides are primarily responsible for the mass abandonment of nests, according to new research.
by Brooks Hays
Significant rates of colony collapse disorder have been reported all over the world. UPI/Ismael Mohamad | License Photo
CAMBRIDGE, Mass., May 9 (UPI) –Though parasitic mites continue to infect and kill honeybees, a new study suggests they are not to blame for colony collapse disorder (CCD), the phenomenon blamed for rapidly depleting the world’s honeybee population — pesticides are.
Harvard researchers, working with beekeepers in Massachusetts, kept tabs on 18 bee colonies, six hives in three different locations — from October 2012 to April 2013. Half the colonies were treated with a non-lethal dose of two neonicotinoid pesticides.
Source: http://philosophers-stone.co.uk/wordpress/2014/05/pesticides-to-blame-for-honeybee-colony-collapse-disorder-not-mites/
