Published March 29, 2013 12:00AM
A mystery disease that has been ravaging the world’s bees for the better part of a decade has surged in the last year, killing as many as 50 percent of hives. Now, beekeepers and some researchers say a new type of pesticide could be to blame.
A study carried out by scientists from the University of Dundee found that if bees were exposed to neonicotinoids, a class of pesticide used to kill bugs that prey on certain crops, they experienced the insect equivalent of an epileptic seizure.
Besides diminished honey production, the bee deaths could be a problem for farmers, who depend on the insects to pollinate their crops. Farmers in California have spent up to $200 per hive—20 times the normal price—to rent bees.
Via New York Times
