.
Tiny trackers could help solve global bee death mystery
By Nina Hendy
Hobart, Australia
Published
25 August 2015
Share
IMAGE SOURCE,CSIRO
Image caption,
Researchers are using micro sensors to learn about the problems bees face
An international group of scientists, beekeepers, farmers and technology companies is using cutting-edge technology to help find out why honey bee populations around the world are crashing.
Minuscule sensors have been glued to the backs of 10,000 healthy honey bees around the world to help understand why huge numbers of bees are dying.
Like electronic tags that track the movement of cars through toll roads, these tiny trackers send information back to receivers half the size of a credit card that are strategically placed at bee hives.
Australian researchers involved in the global research project compare the sensor to an adult carrying a backpack, weighing about a third of what a honey bee can carry.
But unlike the average backpacker, this extra load will remain in place for the rest of the bee's life.
Mass deaths
The microscopic technology has been developed in Tasmania by Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) over the past two years as part of an international research project investigating bee health.
Around the world, wild bee populations have plummeted thanks to habitat loss, pesticides and diseases, say scientists.
That puts crops that need to be pollinated at risk, says CSIRO Science Leader Professor Paulo de Souza.
IMAGE SOURCE,CSIRO
Image caption,
Scientists don't know enough about bees, says Prof. de Souza
"In some parts of the world, a healthy hive of bees can be like clockwork one day, and then every single bee is dead the very next day, and we have no idea why," Prof. de Souza told the BBC.
"It's happening so frequently that it's now a syndrome called colony collapse disorder, and no scientist working alone would be able to solve this," he says.
A predatory mite called the Varroa destructor has killed many colonies over the past decade.
Australian honey bees have so far remained immune to the devastating mite, putting Australia in an ideal position to coordinate a global research effort, says the CSIRO team.
The tiny sensors they have developed weigh just 5.4 milligrams. They contain a battery that generates energy by vibration, and record a bee's time away from the hive and the distance each bee travels.
IMAGE SOURCE,CSIRO
Image caption,
The Varroa mite is one of many threats to honey bee colonies
Each sensor will record a bee's exposure to pesticides, air pollution and water contamination, as well as taking note of the insect's diet and the weather.
Bees are normally predictable creatures, so changes in their behaviour can indicate stress factors or a change in their environment, says Prof. de Souza.
"The bees fitted with sensors aren't able to carry as much pollen, but we do learn a lot about the bees by doing this," he says.
'Constant fear'
Australia's honey bee industry lives in constant fear that border protection authorities could fail to detect diseased bees in containers entering the country.
Australia's horticulture and agricultural industries are particularly vulnerable to declines in honey bee populations because they rely on unmanaged feral honey bees for much of their crop pollination.
CSIRO pollination researcher Dr Saul Cunningham says Australia's managed bee pollination services would find it difficult to meet the extra demand required to replace the key role unmanaged honey bees play in pollinating crops.
"So the outcome would likely be a drop in crop production and a rise in prices of popular food staples like fruit and vegetables," he said in a statement.
IMAGE SOURCE,CSIRO
Image caption,
Managed bee colonies can't do all the pollination work
The Tasmanian honey bee was tagged first, while scientists in Brazil, Mexico, New Zealand and the UK have joined the initiative in recent months.
The research findings will be shared with the global scientific community, next year.
"It's not just the Varroa mite that's an issue; other stressors could be wiping out honey bee colonies," says Prof. de Souza.
"We just don't understand the combination of stressors that affect honey bees, and we don't know why bee numbers are declining around the world. They might go through extinction; we just don't know," he says.
"There are many interesting aspects that make honey bees so interesting and attractive to us.
"How they are organised, the way they are devoted to the queen and their hive, and how they collaborate. There are many lessons to learn about how these insects work, live and strive."
Nina Hendy is a Tasmania-based writer
Bees 'get a buzz' from pesticides
By Helen Briggs
BBC Environment Correspondent
Published23 April 2015
Share
Neonicotinoids target the same mechanisms in the brain affected by nicotine in the human brain
IMAGE SOURCE,DARA STANLEY
Image caption,
Neonicotinoids target the same mechanisms in the bee brain affected by nicotine in the human brain
Bees prefer food containing neonicotinoid pesticides, research suggests.
They may "get a buzz" from the nicotine-like chemicals in the same way smokers crave cigarettes, according to scientists at Newcastle University.
The experiments raise the question of whether bees can be exposed to harmful doses of pesticides because they are attracted to the chemicals.
Another study found neonicotinoids had a negative effect on bees in the wild.
The Crop Protection Association, which represents pesticide producers, questioned the findings of the studies, published in the journal, Nature.
Scientific controversy
Bees are in decline in Europe and North America due to a number of factors, including pesticides, habitat loss and diseases.
In 2013, the EU imposed a two-year ban on using three neonicotinoid pesticides on flowering crops amid concern about their effects on bees.
Neonicotinoids contain synthetic chemicals similar to nicotine, which as a plant toxin is damaging to insects.
Neuroscientists at Newcastle University tested whether honeybees and bumblebees preferred food containing neonicotinoids over untreated food in the laboratory.
They were surprised to find that sugar solution containing two of three neonicotinoid pesticides appeared to be attractive to bees and "may act like a drug" targeting the brain.
"Bees can't taste neonicotinoids in their food and therefore do not avoid these pesticides," said lead researcher Prof Geraldine Wright. "This is putting them at risk of poisoning when they eat contaminated nectar.
"Even worse, we now have evidence that bees prefer to eat pesticide-contaminated food. Neonicotinoids target the same mechanisms in the bee brain that are affected by nicotine in the human brain."
The next step is to study whether bees can become addicted to the substances, Prof Wright added.
"As soon as it gets into their blood they're getting a little buzz, as it were, and they're responding to that... We don't have any evidence that it's addictive, but it could be."
A field study found harmful effects on the solitary bee
IMAGE SOURCE,MORGAN BOCH
Image caption,
A field study found harmful effects on the solitary bee
The field study found no significant effect on honeybees
IMAGE SOURCE,MAJ RUNDLÖF
Image caption,
...but no significant effect on honeybees
Commenting on the research, Dr Christopher Connolly of the University of Dundee said it would be interesting to find out if insects "become addicted to neonicotinoids over time as humans become addicted to nicotine".
"Given that the neonicotinoids are commonly found in our farmed environment at these levels, this may have already occurred."
EU moratorium
Scientific evidence over the impact of neonicotinoids has proved controversial, with debate over the relevance of laboratory studies and whether there is strong enough evidence to justify a ban.
There have been few field trials on wild bees and the results of these are disputed.
In an attempt to resolve the arguments, Dr Maj Rundlof from Lund University looked at the effects of neonicotinoids on wild bees and honeybees foraging on farmland in Sweden.
Half of oilseed rape fields were sown with seeds coated in neonicotinoids; while the other half were left untreated.
Half the number of wild bumblebees and solitary bees were found in oilseed rape fields treated with pesticides.
Bumblebee colonies stopped growing where the chemicals were present, with reduced reproduction observed in solitary bees and bumblebees. Significant effects were not found in honeybees.
Renewed debate
Prof Simon Potts of the University of Reading said the research suggests an interim ban on the use of neonicotinoids is justified but leaves regulators with a "huge conundrum".
"A return to old-fashioned products sprayed against pests could be disastrous for pollinators, but the other options available to European agriculture, such as natural pest management, would lead to lower yields in the short term and a big increase in food prices."
Nick von Westenholz, CEO of the Crop Protection Association, which represents neonicotinoid producers, questioned the latest research.
"The latest studies in Nature must be seen in the context of ongoing campaign to discredit neonicotinoid pesticides, regardless of what the real evidence shows," he said.
The UK government enforces the moratorium but has publicly stated it does not support it.
A spokesperson from the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said: "The EU will be reviewing the evidence on the effects of neonicotinoids on pollinators. Until this work is complete, the current restrictions remain in place."
Both research studies are published in the journal, Nature.
An interview with Prof Geraldine Wright can be heard on the BBC World Service BBC World Service - Science in Action programme on Thursday.
Follow Helen on Twitter.
Science
New threats to wild bees identified
New threats to wild bees identified
Close
Bumblebees in the wild are infected with many diseases found in honeybees kept by bee keepers, according to a national survey.
With wild bees declining due to habitat loss and pesticides, it could have a big impact on native bees, say scientists at Royal Holloway, University of London.
More details from BBC environment correspondent, Helen Briggs.
Why a digital bee brain is piloting a drone
Why a digital bee brain is piloting a drone
Close
The part of a bee's brain that allows it to see has been recreated by scientists in a computer simulation and connected to a drone - not of the bee variety, but an unmanned aerial vehicle.
The simulation, which is currently a simplification of a real bee brain, allows researchers to perform the same experiments that have been done on real bees.
The research is part of a wider project, known as the Green Brain Project, which aims to recreate a complete European honey bee (Apis mellifera) brain on a computer.
"Bees and all other insects are miracles of engineering which we are nowhere near equalling," said Prof James Marshall.
"If we could even recreate a fraction of their abilities in a robot system then we would have made a tremendous advance," he added.
BBC Click's Stephen Beckett reports.
More at BBC.com/Click and @BBCClick.
Published9 April 2015SectionBBC NewsSubsectionTechnology
Honey bee life cycle filmed in the Ceiriog Valley
Honey bee life cycle filmed in the Ceiriog Valley
Close
Beekeeper Kirsty Williams, who has 50 hives and has been producing honey for 30 years in north Wales, has made an educational film to teach school children about their importance to nature.
Her free DVD has been given to 150 primary school across the region with pupils at her village school, Ysgol Pontfadog, near Chirk, given a premiere performance on Thursday.
Here is a clip from the film.
Published8 January 2015SectionBBC NewsSubsectionWales
Why we should go wild to protect bees and insects
Why we should go wild to protect bees and insects
Close
Gardeners should use their lawnmowers less often to protect Britain's bees and other pollinating insects - that's the advice from the Environment Secretary.
In a speech today Elizabeth Truss will say bees should be treated like Premier League footballers , with excellent accommodation and the best diet.
Victoria Gill reports.
Published4 November 2014SectionBBC NewsSubsectionScience & Environment
Tiny trackers could help solve global bee death mystery
By Nina Hendy
Hobart, Australia
Published
25 August 2015
Share
IMAGE SOURCE,CSIRO
Image caption,
Researchers are using micro sensors to learn about the problems bees face
An international group of scientists, beekeepers, farmers and technology companies is using cutting-edge technology to help find out why honey bee populations around the world are crashing.
Minuscule sensors have been glued to the backs of 10,000 healthy honey bees around the world to help understand why huge numbers of bees are dying.
Like electronic tags that track the movement of cars through toll roads, these tiny trackers send information back to receivers half the size of a credit card that are strategically placed at bee hives.
Australian researchers involved in the global research project compare the sensor to an adult carrying a backpack, weighing about a third of what a honey bee can carry.
But unlike the average backpacker, this extra load will remain in place for the rest of the bee's life.
Mass deaths
The microscopic technology has been developed in Tasmania by Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) over the past two years as part of an international research project investigating bee health.
Around the world, wild bee populations have plummeted thanks to habitat loss, pesticides and diseases, say scientists.
That puts crops that need to be pollinated at risk, says CSIRO Science Leader Professor Paulo de Souza.
IMAGE SOURCE,CSIRO
Image caption,
Scientists don't know enough about bees, says Prof. de Souza
"In some parts of the world, a healthy hive of bees can be like clockwork one day, and then every single bee is dead the very next day, and we have no idea why," Prof. de Souza told the BBC.
"It's happening so frequently that it's now a syndrome called colony collapse disorder, and no scientist working alone would be able to solve this," he says.
A predatory mite called the Varroa destructor has killed many colonies over the past decade.
Australian honey bees have so far remained immune to the devastating mite, putting Australia in an ideal position to coordinate a global research effort, says the CSIRO team.
The tiny sensors they have developed weigh just 5.4 milligrams. They contain a battery that generates energy by vibration, and record a bee's time away from the hive and the distance each bee travels.
IMAGE SOURCE,CSIRO
Image caption,
The Varroa mite is one of many threats to honey bee colonies
Each sensor will record a bee's exposure to pesticides, air pollution and water contamination, as well as taking note of the insect's diet and the weather.
Bees are normally predictable creatures, so changes in their behaviour can indicate stress factors or a change in their environment, says Prof. de Souza.
"The bees fitted with sensors aren't able to carry as much pollen, but we do learn a lot about the bees by doing this," he says.
'Constant fear'
Australia's honey bee industry lives in constant fear that border protection authorities could fail to detect diseased bees in containers entering the country.
Australia's horticulture and agricultural industries are particularly vulnerable to declines in honey bee populations because they rely on unmanaged feral honey bees for much of their crop pollination.
CSIRO pollination researcher Dr Saul Cunningham says Australia's managed bee pollination services would find it difficult to meet the extra demand required to replace the key role unmanaged honey bees play in pollinating crops.
"So the outcome would likely be a drop in crop production and a rise in prices of popular food staples like fruit and vegetables," he said in a statement.
IMAGE SOURCE,CSIRO
Image caption,
Managed bee colonies can't do all the pollination work
The Tasmanian honey bee was tagged first, while scientists in Brazil, Mexico, New Zealand and the UK have joined the initiative in recent months.
The research findings will be shared with the global scientific community, next year.
"It's not just the Varroa mite that's an issue; other stressors could be wiping out honey bee colonies," says Prof. de Souza.
"We just don't understand the combination of stressors that affect honey bees, and we don't know why bee numbers are declining around the world. They might go through extinction; we just don't know," he says.
"There are many interesting aspects that make honey bees so interesting and attractive to us.
"How they are organised, the way they are devoted to the queen and their hive, and how they collaborate. There are many lessons to learn about how these insects work, live and strive."
Nina Hendy is a Tasmania-based writer
Bees 'get a buzz' from pesticides
By Helen Briggs
BBC Environment Correspondent
Published23 April 2015
Share
Neonicotinoids target the same mechanisms in the brain affected by nicotine in the human brain
IMAGE SOURCE,DARA STANLEY
Image caption,
Neonicotinoids target the same mechanisms in the bee brain affected by nicotine in the human brain
Bees prefer food containing neonicotinoid pesticides, research suggests.
They may "get a buzz" from the nicotine-like chemicals in the same way smokers crave cigarettes, according to scientists at Newcastle University.
The experiments raise the question of whether bees can be exposed to harmful doses of pesticides because they are attracted to the chemicals.
Another study found neonicotinoids had a negative effect on bees in the wild.
The Crop Protection Association, which represents pesticide producers, questioned the findings of the studies, published in the journal, Nature.
Scientific controversy
Bees are in decline in Europe and North America due to a number of factors, including pesticides, habitat loss and diseases.
In 2013, the EU imposed a two-year ban on using three neonicotinoid pesticides on flowering crops amid concern about their effects on bees.
Neonicotinoids contain synthetic chemicals similar to nicotine, which as a plant toxin is damaging to insects.
Neuroscientists at Newcastle University tested whether honeybees and bumblebees preferred food containing neonicotinoids over untreated food in the laboratory.
They were surprised to find that sugar solution containing two of three neonicotinoid pesticides appeared to be attractive to bees and "may act like a drug" targeting the brain.
"Bees can't taste neonicotinoids in their food and therefore do not avoid these pesticides," said lead researcher Prof Geraldine Wright. "This is putting them at risk of poisoning when they eat contaminated nectar.
"Even worse, we now have evidence that bees prefer to eat pesticide-contaminated food. Neonicotinoids target the same mechanisms in the bee brain that are affected by nicotine in the human brain."
The next step is to study whether bees can become addicted to the substances, Prof Wright added.
"As soon as it gets into their blood they're getting a little buzz, as it were, and they're responding to that... We don't have any evidence that it's addictive, but it could be."
A field study found harmful effects on the solitary bee
IMAGE SOURCE,MORGAN BOCH
Image caption,
A field study found harmful effects on the solitary bee
The field study found no significant effect on honeybees
IMAGE SOURCE,MAJ RUNDLÖF
Image caption,
...but no significant effect on honeybees
Commenting on the research, Dr Christopher Connolly of the University of Dundee said it would be interesting to find out if insects "become addicted to neonicotinoids over time as humans become addicted to nicotine".
"Given that the neonicotinoids are commonly found in our farmed environment at these levels, this may have already occurred."
EU moratorium
Scientific evidence over the impact of neonicotinoids has proved controversial, with debate over the relevance of laboratory studies and whether there is strong enough evidence to justify a ban.
There have been few field trials on wild bees and the results of these are disputed.
In an attempt to resolve the arguments, Dr Maj Rundlof from Lund University looked at the effects of neonicotinoids on wild bees and honeybees foraging on farmland in Sweden.
Half of oilseed rape fields were sown with seeds coated in neonicotinoids; while the other half were left untreated.
Half the number of wild bumblebees and solitary bees were found in oilseed rape fields treated with pesticides.
Bumblebee colonies stopped growing where the chemicals were present, with reduced reproduction observed in solitary bees and bumblebees. Significant effects were not found in honeybees.
Renewed debate
Prof Simon Potts of the University of Reading said the research suggests an interim ban on the use of neonicotinoids is justified but leaves regulators with a "huge conundrum".
"A return to old-fashioned products sprayed against pests could be disastrous for pollinators, but the other options available to European agriculture, such as natural pest management, would lead to lower yields in the short term and a big increase in food prices."
Nick von Westenholz, CEO of the Crop Protection Association, which represents neonicotinoid producers, questioned the latest research.
"The latest studies in Nature must be seen in the context of ongoing campaign to discredit neonicotinoid pesticides, regardless of what the real evidence shows," he said.
The UK government enforces the moratorium but has publicly stated it does not support it.
A spokesperson from the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said: "The EU will be reviewing the evidence on the effects of neonicotinoids on pollinators. Until this work is complete, the current restrictions remain in place."
Both research studies are published in the journal, Nature.
An interview with Prof Geraldine Wright can be heard on the BBC World Service BBC World Service - Science in Action programme on Thursday.
Follow Helen on Twitter.
Science
New threats to wild bees identified
New threats to wild bees identified
Close
Bumblebees in the wild are infected with many diseases found in honeybees kept by bee keepers, according to a national survey.
With wild bees declining due to habitat loss and pesticides, it could have a big impact on native bees, say scientists at Royal Holloway, University of London.
More details from BBC environment correspondent, Helen Briggs.
Why a digital bee brain is piloting a drone
Why a digital bee brain is piloting a drone
Close
The part of a bee's brain that allows it to see has been recreated by scientists in a computer simulation and connected to a drone - not of the bee variety, but an unmanned aerial vehicle.
The simulation, which is currently a simplification of a real bee brain, allows researchers to perform the same experiments that have been done on real bees.
The research is part of a wider project, known as the Green Brain Project, which aims to recreate a complete European honey bee (Apis mellifera) brain on a computer.
"Bees and all other insects are miracles of engineering which we are nowhere near equalling," said Prof James Marshall.
"If we could even recreate a fraction of their abilities in a robot system then we would have made a tremendous advance," he added.
BBC Click's Stephen Beckett reports.
More at BBC.com/Click and @BBCClick.
Published9 April 2015SectionBBC NewsSubsectionTechnology
Honey bee life cycle filmed in the Ceiriog Valley
Honey bee life cycle filmed in the Ceiriog Valley
Close
Beekeeper Kirsty Williams, who has 50 hives and has been producing honey for 30 years in north Wales, has made an educational film to teach school children about their importance to nature.
Her free DVD has been given to 150 primary school across the region with pupils at her village school, Ysgol Pontfadog, near Chirk, given a premiere performance on Thursday.
Here is a clip from the film.
Published8 January 2015SectionBBC NewsSubsectionWales
Why we should go wild to protect bees and insects
Why we should go wild to protect bees and insects
Close
Gardeners should use their lawnmowers less often to protect Britain's bees and other pollinating insects - that's the advice from the Environment Secretary.
In a speech today Elizabeth Truss will say bees should be treated like Premier League footballers , with excellent accommodation and the best diet.
Victoria Gill reports.
Published4 November 2014SectionBBC NewsSubsectionScience & Environment
Tiny trackers could help solve global bee death mystery
By Nina Hendy
Hobart, Australia
Published
25 August 2015
Share
IMAGE SOURCE,CSIRO
Image caption,
Researchers are using micro sensors to learn about the problems bees face
An international group of scientists, beekeepers, farmers and technology companies is using cutting-edge technology to help find out why honey bee populations around the world are crashing.
Minuscule sensors have been glued to the backs of 10,000 healthy honey bees around the world to help understand why huge numbers of bees are dying.
Like electronic tags that track the movement of cars through toll roads, these tiny trackers send information back to receivers half the size of a credit card that are strategically placed at bee hives.
Australian researchers involved in the global research project compare the sensor to an adult carrying a backpack, weighing about a third of what a honey bee can carry.
But unlike the average backpacker, this extra load will remain in place for the rest of the bee's life.
Mass deaths
The microscopic technology has been developed in Tasmania by Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) over the past two years as part of an international research project investigating bee health.
Around the world, wild bee populations have plummeted thanks to habitat loss, pesticides and diseases, say scientists.
That puts crops that need to be pollinated at risk, says CSIRO Science Leader Professor Paulo de Souza.
IMAGE SOURCE,CSIRO
Image caption,
Scientists don't know enough about bees, says Prof. de Souza
"In some parts of the world, a healthy hive of bees can be like clockwork one day, and then every single bee is dead the very next day, and we have no idea why," Prof. de Souza told the BBC.
"It's happening so frequently that it's now a syndrome called colony collapse disorder, and no scientist working alone would be able to solve this," he says.
A predatory mite called the Varroa destructor has killed many colonies over the past decade.
Australian honey bees have so far remained immune to the devastating mite, putting Australia in an ideal position to coordinate a global research effort, says the CSIRO team.
The tiny sensors they have developed weigh just 5.4 milligrams. They contain a battery that generates energy by vibration, and record a bee's time away from the hive and the distance each bee travels.
IMAGE SOURCE,CSIRO
Image caption,
The Varroa mite is one of many threats to honey bee colonies
Each sensor will record a bee's exposure to pesticides, air pollution and water contamination, as well as taking note of the insect's diet and the weather.
Bees are normally predictable creatures, so changes in their behaviour can indicate stress factors or a change in their environment, says Prof. de Souza.
"The bees fitted with sensors aren't able to carry as much pollen, but we do learn a lot about the bees by doing this," he says.
'Constant fear'
Australia's honey bee industry lives in constant fear that border protection authorities could fail to detect diseased bees in containers entering the country.
Australia's horticulture and agricultural industries are particularly vulnerable to declines in honey bee populations because they rely on unmanaged feral honey bees for much of their crop pollination.
CSIRO pollination researcher Dr Saul Cunningham says Australia's managed bee pollination services would find it difficult to meet the extra demand required to replace the key role unmanaged honey bees play in pollinating crops.
"So the outcome would likely be a drop in crop production and a rise in prices of popular food staples like fruit and vegetables," he said in a statement.
IMAGE SOURCE,CSIRO
Image caption,
Managed bee colonies can't do all the pollination work
The Tasmanian honey bee was tagged first, while scientists in Brazil, Mexico, New Zealand and the UK have joined the initiative in recent months.
The research findings will be shared with the global scientific community, next year.
"It's not just the Varroa mite that's an issue; other stressors could be wiping out honey bee colonies," says Prof. de Souza.
"We just don't understand the combination of stressors that affect honey bees, and we don't know why bee numbers are declining around the world. They might go through extinction; we just don't know," he says.
"There are many interesting aspects that make honey bees so interesting and attractive to us.
"How they are organised, the way they are devoted to the queen and their hive, and how they collaborate. There are many lessons to learn about how these insects work, live and strive."
Nina Hendy is a Tasmania-based writer
Bees 'get a buzz' from pesticides
By Helen Briggs
BBC Environment Correspondent
Published23 April 2015
Share
Neonicotinoids target the same mechanisms in the brain affected by nicotine in the human brain
IMAGE SOURCE,DARA STANLEY
Image caption,
Neonicotinoids target the same mechanisms in the bee brain affected by nicotine in the human brain
Bees prefer food containing neonicotinoid pesticides, research suggests.
They may "get a buzz" from the nicotine-like chemicals in the same way smokers crave cigarettes, according to scientists at Newcastle University.
The experiments raise the question of whether bees can be exposed to harmful doses of pesticides because they are attracted to the chemicals.
Another study found neonicotinoids had a negative effect on bees in the wild.
The Crop Protection Association, which represents pesticide producers, questioned the findings of the studies, published in the journal, Nature.
Scientific controversy
Bees are in decline in Europe and North America due to a number of factors, including pesticides, habitat loss and diseases.
In 2013, the EU imposed a two-year ban on using three neonicotinoid pesticides on flowering crops amid concern about their effects on bees.
Neonicotinoids contain synthetic chemicals similar to nicotine, which as a plant toxin is damaging to insects.
Neuroscientists at Newcastle University tested whether honeybees and bumblebees preferred food containing neonicotinoids over untreated food in the laboratory.
They were surprised to find that sugar solution containing two of three neonicotinoid pesticides appeared to be attractive to bees and "may act like a drug" targeting the brain.
"Bees can't taste neonicotinoids in their food and therefore do not avoid these pesticides," said lead researcher Prof Geraldine Wright. "This is putting them at risk of poisoning when they eat contaminated nectar.
"Even worse, we now have evidence that bees prefer to eat pesticide-contaminated food. Neonicotinoids target the same mechanisms in the bee brain that are affected by nicotine in the human brain."
The next step is to study whether bees can become addicted to the substances, Prof Wright added.
"As soon as it gets into their blood they're getting a little buzz, as it were, and they're responding to that... We don't have any evidence that it's addictive, but it could be."
A field study found harmful effects on the solitary bee
IMAGE SOURCE,MORGAN BOCH
Image caption,
A field study found harmful effects on the solitary bee
The field study found no significant effect on honeybees
IMAGE SOURCE,MAJ RUNDLÖF
Image caption,
...but no significant effect on honeybees
Commenting on the research, Dr Christopher Connolly of the University of Dundee said it would be interesting to find out if insects "become addicted to neonicotinoids over time as humans become addicted to nicotine".
"Given that the neonicotinoids are commonly found in our farmed environment at these levels, this may have already occurred."
EU moratorium
Scientific evidence over the impact of neonicotinoids has proved controversial, with debate over the relevance of laboratory studies and whether there is strong enough evidence to justify a ban.
There have been few field trials on wild bees and the results of these are disputed.
In an attempt to resolve the arguments, Dr Maj Rundlof from Lund University looked at the effects of neonicotinoids on wild bees and honeybees foraging on farmland in Sweden.
Half of oilseed rape fields were sown with seeds coated in neonicotinoids; while the other half were left untreated.
Half the number of wild bumblebees and solitary bees were found in oilseed rape fields treated with pesticides.
Bumblebee colonies stopped growing where the chemicals were present, with reduced reproduction observed in solitary bees and bumblebees. Significant effects were not found in honeybees.
Renewed debate
Prof Simon Potts of the University of Reading said the research suggests an interim ban on the use of neonicotinoids is justified but leaves regulators with a "huge conundrum".
"A return to old-fashioned products sprayed against pests could be disastrous for pollinators, but the other options available to European agriculture, such as natural pest management, would lead to lower yields in the short term and a big increase in food prices."
Nick von Westenholz, CEO of the Crop Protection Association, which represents neonicotinoid producers, questioned the latest research.
"The latest studies in Nature must be seen in the context of ongoing campaign to discredit neonicotinoid pesticides, regardless of what the real evidence shows," he said.
The UK government enforces the moratorium but has publicly stated it does not support it.
A spokesperson from the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said: "The EU will be reviewing the evidence on the effects of neonicotinoids on pollinators. Until this work is complete, the current restrictions remain in place."
Both research studies are published in the journal, Nature.
An interview with Prof Geraldine Wright can be heard on the BBC World Service BBC World Service - Science in Action programme on Thursday.
Follow Helen on Twitter.
Science
New threats to wild bees identified
New threats to wild bees identified
Close
Bumblebees in the wild are infected with many diseases found in honeybees kept by bee keepers, according to a national survey.
With wild bees declining due to habitat loss and pesticides, it could have a big impact on native bees, say scientists at Royal Holloway, University of London.
More details from BBC environment correspondent, Helen Briggs.
Why a digital bee brain is piloting a drone
Why a digital bee brain is piloting a drone
Close
The part of a bee's brain that allows it to see has been recreated by scientists in a computer simulation and connected to a drone - not of the bee variety, but an unmanned aerial vehicle.
The simulation, which is currently a simplification of a real bee brain, allows researchers to perform the same experiments that have been done on real bees.
The research is part of a wider project, known as the Green Brain Project, which aims to recreate a complete European honey bee (Apis mellifera) brain on a computer.
"Bees and all other insects are miracles of engineering which we are nowhere near equalling," said Prof James Marshall.
"If we could even recreate a fraction of their abilities in a robot system then we would have made a tremendous advance," he added.
BBC Click's Stephen Beckett reports.
More at BBC.com/Click and @BBCClick.
Published9 April 2015SectionBBC NewsSubsectionTechnology
Honey bee life cycle filmed in the Ceiriog Valley
Honey bee life cycle filmed in the Ceiriog Valley
Close
Beekeeper Kirsty Williams, who has 50 hives and has been producing honey for 30 years in north Wales, has made an educational film to teach school children about their importance to nature.
Her free DVD has been given to 150 primary school across the region with pupils at her village school, Ysgol Pontfadog, near Chirk, given a premiere performance on Thursday.
Here is a clip from the film.
Published8 January 2015SectionBBC NewsSubsectionWales
Why we should go wild to protect bees and insects
Why we should go wild to protect bees and insects
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Gardeners should use their lawnmowers less often to protect Britain's bees and other pollinating insects - that's the advice from the Environment Secretary.
In a speech today Elizabeth Truss will say bees should be treated like Premier League footballers , with excellent accommodation and the best diet.
Victoria Gill reports.
Published4 November 2014SectionBBC NewsSubsectionScience & Environment
Tiny trackers could help solve global bee death mystery
By Nina Hendy
Hobart, Australia
Published
25 August 2015
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IMAGE SOURCE,CSIRO
Image caption,
Researchers are using micro sensors to learn about the problems bees face
An international group of scientists, beekeepers, farmers and technology companies is using cutting-edge technology to help find out why honey bee populations around the world are crashing.
Minuscule sensors have been glued to the backs of 10,000 healthy honey bees around the world to help understand why huge numbers of bees are dying.
Like electronic tags that track the movement of cars through toll roads, these tiny trackers send information back to receivers half the size of a credit card that are strategically placed at bee hives.
Australian researchers involved in the global research project compare the sensor to an adult carrying a backpack, weighing about a third of what a honey bee can carry.
But unlike the average backpacker, this extra load will remain in place for the rest of the bee's life.
Mass deaths
The microscopic technology has been developed in Tasmania by Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) over the past two years as part of an international research project investigating bee health.
Around the world, wild bee populations have plummeted thanks to habitat loss, pesticides and diseases, say scientists.
That puts crops that need to be pollinated at risk, says CSIRO Science Leader Professor Paulo de Souza.
IMAGE SOURCE,CSIRO
Image caption,
Scientists don't know enough about bees, says Prof. de Souza
"In some parts of the world, a healthy hive of bees can be like clockwork one day, and then every single bee is dead the very next day, and we have no idea why," Prof. de Souza told the BBC.
"It's happening so frequently that it's now a syndrome called colony collapse disorder, and no scientist working alone would be able to solve this," he says.
A predatory mite called the Varroa destructor has killed many colonies over the past decade.
Australian honey bees have so far remained immune to the devastating mite, putting Australia in an ideal position to coordinate a global research effort, says the CSIRO team.
The tiny sensors they have developed weigh just 5.4 milligrams. They contain a battery that generates energy by vibration, and record a bee's time away from the hive and the distance each bee travels.
IMAGE SOURCE,CSIRO
Image caption,
The Varroa mite is one of many threats to honey bee colonies
Each sensor will record a bee's exposure to pesticides, air pollution and water contamination, as well as taking note of the insect's diet and the weather.
Bees are normally predictable creatures, so changes in their behaviour can indicate stress factors or a change in their environment, says Prof. de Souza.
"The bees fitted with sensors aren't able to carry as much pollen, but we do learn a lot about the bees by doing this," he says.
'Constant fear'
Australia's honey bee industry lives in constant fear that border protection authorities could fail to detect diseased bees in containers entering the country.
Australia's horticulture and agricultural industries are particularly vulnerable to declines in honey bee populations because they rely on unmanaged feral honey bees for much of their crop pollination.
CSIRO pollination researcher Dr Saul Cunningham says Australia's managed bee pollination services would find it difficult to meet the extra demand required to replace the key role unmanaged honey bees play in pollinating crops.
"So the outcome would likely be a drop in crop production and a rise in prices of popular food staples like fruit and vegetables," he said in a statement.
IMAGE SOURCE,CSIRO
Image caption,
Managed bee colonies can't do all the pollination work
The Tasmanian honey bee was tagged first, while scientists in Brazil, Mexico, New Zealand and the UK have joined the initiative in recent months.
The research findings will be shared with the global scientific community, next year.
"It's not just the Varroa mite that's an issue; other stressors could be wiping out honey bee colonies," says Prof. de Souza.
"We just don't understand the combination of stressors that affect honey bees, and we don't know why bee numbers are declining around the world. They might go through extinction; we just don't know," he says.
"There are many interesting aspects that make honey bees so interesting and attractive to us.
"How they are organised, the way they are devoted to the queen and their hive, and how they collaborate. There are many lessons to learn about how these insects work, live and strive."
Nina Hendy is a Tasmania-based writer
Bees 'get a buzz' from pesticides
By Helen Briggs
BBC Environment Correspondent
Published23 April 2015
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Neonicotinoids target the same mechanisms in the brain affected by nicotine in the human brain
IMAGE SOURCE,DARA STANLEY
Image caption,
Neonicotinoids target the same mechanisms in the bee brain affected by nicotine in the human brain
Bees prefer food containing neonicotinoid pesticides, research suggests.
They may "get a buzz" from the nicotine-like chemicals in the same way smokers crave cigarettes, according to scientists at Newcastle University.
The experiments raise the question of whether bees can be exposed to harmful doses of pesticides because they are attracted to the chemicals.
Another study found neonicotinoids had a negative effect on bees in the wild.
The Crop Protection Association, which represents pesticide producers, questioned the findings of the studies, published in the journal, Nature.
Scientific controversy
Bees are in decline in Europe and North America due to a number of factors, including pesticides, habitat loss and diseases.
In 2013, the EU imposed a two-year ban on using three neonicotinoid pesticides on flowering crops amid concern about their effects on bees.
Neonicotinoids contain synthetic chemicals similar to nicotine, which as a plant toxin is damaging to insects.
Neuroscientists at Newcastle University tested whether honeybees and bumblebees preferred food containing neonicotinoids over untreated food in the laboratory.
They were surprised to find that sugar solution containing two of three neonicotinoid pesticides appeared to be attractive to bees and "may act like a drug" targeting the brain.
"Bees can't taste neonicotinoids in their food and therefore do not avoid these pesticides," said lead researcher Prof Geraldine Wright. "This is putting them at risk of poisoning when they eat contaminated nectar.
"Even worse, we now have evidence that bees prefer to eat pesticide-contaminated food. Neonicotinoids target the same mechanisms in the bee brain that are affected by nicotine in the human brain."
The next step is to study whether bees can become addicted to the substances, Prof Wright added.
"As soon as it gets into their blood they're getting a little buzz, as it were, and they're responding to that... We don't have any evidence that it's addictive, but it could be."
A field study found harmful effects on the solitary bee
IMAGE SOURCE,MORGAN BOCH
Image caption,
A field study found harmful effects on the solitary bee
The field study found no significant effect on honeybees
IMAGE SOURCE,MAJ RUNDLÖF
Image caption,
...but no significant effect on honeybees
Commenting on the research, Dr Christopher Connolly of the University of Dundee said it would be interesting to find out if insects "become addicted to neonicotinoids over time as humans become addicted to nicotine".
"Given that the neonicotinoids are commonly found in our farmed environment at these levels, this may have already occurred."
EU moratorium
Scientific evidence over the impact of neonicotinoids has proved controversial, with debate over the relevance of laboratory studies and whether there is strong enough evidence to justify a ban.
There have been few field trials on wild bees and the results of these are disputed.
In an attempt to resolve the arguments, Dr Maj Rundlof from Lund University looked at the effects of neonicotinoids on wild bees and honeybees foraging on farmland in Sweden.
Half of oilseed rape fields were sown with seeds coated in neonicotinoids; while the other half were left untreated.
Half the number of wild bumblebees and solitary bees were found in oilseed rape fields treated with pesticides.
Bumblebee colonies stopped growing where the chemicals were present, with reduced reproduction observed in solitary bees and bumblebees. Significant effects were not found in honeybees.
Renewed debate
Prof Simon Potts of the University of Reading said the research suggests an interim ban on the use of neonicotinoids is justified but leaves regulators with a "huge conundrum".
"A return to old-fashioned products sprayed against pests could be disastrous for pollinators, but the other options available to European agriculture, such as natural pest management, would lead to lower yields in the short term and a big increase in food prices."
Nick von Westenholz, CEO of the Crop Protection Association, which represents neonicotinoid producers, questioned the latest research.
"The latest studies in Nature must be seen in the context of ongoing campaign to discredit neonicotinoid pesticides, regardless of what the real evidence shows," he said.
The UK government enforces the moratorium but has publicly stated it does not support it.
A spokesperson from the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said: "The EU will be reviewing the evidence on the effects of neonicotinoids on pollinators. Until this work is complete, the current restrictions remain in place."
Both research studies are published in the journal, Nature.
An interview with Prof Geraldine Wright can be heard on the BBC World Service BBC World Service - Science in Action programme on Thursday.
Follow Helen on Twitter.
Science
New threats to wild bees identified
New threats to wild bees identified
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Bumblebees in the wild are infected with many diseases found in honeybees kept by bee keepers, according to a national survey.
With wild bees declining due to habitat loss and pesticides, it could have a big impact on native bees, say scientists at Royal Holloway, University of London.
More details from BBC environment correspondent, Helen Briggs.
Why a digital bee brain is piloting a drone
Why a digital bee brain is piloting a drone
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The part of a bee's brain that allows it to see has been recreated by scientists in a computer simulation and connected to a drone - not of the bee variety, but an unmanned aerial vehicle.
The simulation, which is currently a simplification of a real bee brain, allows researchers to perform the same experiments that have been done on real bees.
The research is part of a wider project, known as the Green Brain Project, which aims to recreate a complete European honey bee (Apis mellifera) brain on a computer.
"Bees and all other insects are miracles of engineering which we are nowhere near equalling," said Prof James Marshall.
"If we could even recreate a fraction of their abilities in a robot system then we would have made a tremendous advance," he added.
BBC Click's Stephen Beckett reports.
More at BBC.com/Click and @BBCClick.
Published9 April 2015SectionBBC NewsSubsectionTechnology
Honey bee life cycle filmed in the Ceiriog Valley
Honey bee life cycle filmed in the Ceiriog Valley
Close
Beekeeper Kirsty Williams, who has 50 hives and has been producing honey for 30 years in north Wales, has made an educational film to teach school children about their importance to nature.
Her free DVD has been given to 150 primary school across the region with pupils at her village school, Ysgol Pontfadog, near Chirk, given a premiere performance on Thursday.
Here is a clip from the film.
Published8 January 2015SectionBBC NewsSubsectionWales
Why we should go wild to protect bees and insects
Why we should go wild to protect bees and insects
Close
Gardeners should use their lawnmowers less often to protect Britain's bees and other pollinating insects - that's the advice from the Environment Secretary.
In a speech today Elizabeth Truss will say bees should be treated like Premier League footballers , with excellent accommodation and the best diet.
Victoria Gill reports.
Published4 November 2014SectionBBC NewsSubsectionScience & Environment
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