TV News LIES

Wednesday, Apr 02nd

Last update07:48:45 AM GMT

You are here News Environment Researchers find "alarming" decline in bumblebees

Researchers find "alarming" decline in bumblebees

E-mail Print PDF

Alarming decline in bumble beesFour previously abundant species of bumblebee are close to disappearing in the United States, researchers reported Monday in a study confirming that the agriculturally important bees are being affected worldwide.

They documented a 96 percent decline in the numbers of the four species, and said their range had shrunk by as much as 87 percent. As with honeybees, a pathogen is partly involved, but the researchers also found evidence of inbreeding caused by habitat loss.

"We provide incontrovertible evidence that multiple Bombus species have experienced sharp population declines at the national level," the researchers reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, calling the findings "alarming."

"These are one of the most important pollinators of native plants," Sydney Cameron of the University of Illinois, Urbana, who led the study, said in a telephone interview.

In recent years, experts have documented a disappearance of bees in what is widely called colony collapse disorder, blamed on many factors including parasites, fungi, stress, pesticides and viruses. But most studies have focused on honeybees.

Bumblebees are also important pollinators, Cameron said, but are far less studied. Bumblebees pollinate tomatoes, blueberries and cranberries, she noted. "The 50 species (of bumblebees) in the United States are traditionally associated with prairies and with high alpine vegetations," she added.

"Just as important -- they land on a flower and they have this behavior called buzz pollination that enables them to cause pollen to fly off the flower." This is the way to pollinate tomatoes, Cameron said -- although smaller bees can accomplish the same effect if enough cluster on a single flower.

More...


Most Recent Related Stories...


Trump officials to cut Planned Parenthood family planning funds

gTrump cuts PP fundin The reproductive health provider Planned Parenthood said the Trump administration would cut federal family planning funding...

Monster storm heading east this weekend to spew tornadoes, hail and snow

Monster storms coming Weather will have its own version of March Madness this weekend as yet another outbreak of...

Why Was the Earthquake in Myanmar and Thailand So Devastating?

7.7 earthquakeOn March 28, at around midday local time, tens of millions of people in Southeast Asia...

Wildfires Prompt Evacuations In Carolinas, As New Jersey Crews Battle Blaze

nc firesWildfires forced a mandatory evacuation Sunday in a North Carolina county still recovering from Hurricane Helene,...
 
America's # 1 Enemy
Tee Shirt
& Help Support TvNewsLIES.org!
TVNL Tee Shirt
 
TVNL TOTE BAG
Conserve our Planet
& Help Support TvNewsLIES.org!
 
Get your 9/11 & Media
Deception Dollars
& Help Support TvNewsLIES.org!
 
The Loaded Deck
The First & the Best!
The Media & Bush Admin Exposed!