(EUN) DWV JOINS UK GOVERNMENT TO KILL OFF BEES

Honeybees are pollinators of countless wild and cultivated plants.Mike Groll/AP

Bee populations around the world are suffering from the spread of a deadly virus that eats away at their wings.

Deformed wing virus (DWV) was first detected 40 years ago, but a new strain that emerged in the Netherlands in 2001 is on the rise according to scientists.

Honeybees are most afflicted by the virus, which is transmitted by a parasitic mite called Varroa Destructor.

"These mites not only transmit viruses between honeybees, they also eat the bees' tissues," explains Professor Robert Paxton, a zoologist from Germany’s Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU) which led the new study.

After analysing data on cases of DWV from the past 20 years, the researchers found that the virus mutation has already replaced the original strain in Europe. It is spreading quickly and now threatens bee colonies around the world.

Australia is the only major landmass on which the virus has not been detected, likely because the Varroa mite has not yet been able to spread widely there.

The plight of bees is well documented, with habitat destruction, pesticide use and climate change all contributing to their decline. Nearly 1 in 10 wild bee populations across Europe are facing extinction, according to environmental charity Friends of the Earth.

Notwithstanding all the ways humans are pushing these crucial pollinators to the brink, Paxton says that the "Deformed wing virus is definitely the biggest threat to honeybees.” euronews - link - Lottie Limb - link - more like this (killing bees) - link - more like this (pollution) - link

(NPG) UK GOV URGED TO REVERSE NEONICOTINOIDS U TURN

An open letter from Neal's Yard Remedies calling for Boris Johnson to reverse the government's decision to lift its ban in harmful neonicotinoids has received wide support from over 50 businesses and organisations.

The letter requests an immediate reversal of the decision in January by Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, George Eustice to remove the ban on the ‘bee-killing neonicotinoid, Cruiser SB (thiamethoxam)’ for emergency use in sugar beet seed to prevent beet yellows virus.

“This reintroduction of the toxic pesticide, which was prohibited under UK law in 2018 except for emergency circumstances, goes directly against the advice of Government experts who say it poses an unacceptable threat to bees and pollinators,” the letter reads.

It adds that as well as destroying pollinators and playing a direct role in the decline of bee species, neonics are also harmful to rivers, people and the environment, and urges the Government to entirely ban on the use of neonicotinoids in the UK.

This reintroduction of the toxic pesticide … goes directly against the advice of Government experts who say it poses an unacceptable threat to bees and pollinators

“We are incredibly concerned about the devastating effects of pesticide use on wildlife, people and the planet. In 2011, together with our partners Friends of the Earth and Plantlife UK, we delivered to No. 10 a petition signed by 117,000 that led to the ban of neonicotinoids in the UK … As a collective of environmentally conscious British businesses and organisations, we are doing our part. Now we are calling on the Government to implement a total ban on the use of neonicotinoids in the UK.”

The letter also states granting the use of neonics fails to meet the Government’s ‘own legal requirement to halt species loss by 2030, as set out in the Environment Act in 2021’. natural products global - link - Dominic Roberjot - link - Jane Wolfe - link - Neal's Yard - link - more like this (pollution) - link

(INS) ROBOBEES

A modern beehive powered by solar energy, monitored by artificial intelligence and equipped with a robot arm is coming to the United States.

Beehome, a beehive that holds up to 24 bee colonies (which includes a queen and her 30,000 to 50,0000 offspring), is available to beekeepers from the Israeli company Beewise. About 150 to 200 devices will be put to use in the U.S. by the end of the year, with 1,000 expected by the end of 2022. Most of the devices will be in California, where pollination from bees is vital for the state’s agriculture industry.

Ordinarily, beekeepers must travel long distances to care for their many hives, often not knowing what problems they might encounter when they arrive, Beewise CEO Saar Safra said. But these eight-foot-tall devices allow beekeepers to check in on all their hives remotely 24/7, and perform tasks like providing medicine or food via a robotic arm inside the device.

“It’s kind of a win-win-win,” Safra said. “So the bees win, the beekeepers win and we win, because when I say we, I mean you, right, three times a day on your plate.”

Bees face a number of stressors, including climate change, pesticides and parasites that cause entire colonies to collapse at a rate of about 30 percent per year, according to the EPA. With this technology, Safra said that in tests, the collapse rate decreased to 8 percent per year, compared to control groups that collapsed at a rate of 30 to 40 percent. Link - Katelyn Weisbrod & Bob Berwyn - link - link more like this - link