‘Could become a death spiral’: scientists discover what’s driving record die-offs of US honeybees — Guardian US Experts scrambling to understand losses in hives across the country are finally identifying the culprits. And the damage to farmed bees is a sign of trouble for wild bees too

💀🐝💀 "A research paper published by the US Department of Agriculture ( #USDA), though not yet peer-reviewed, found nearly all colonies contracted a #beevirus spread by parasitic #mites that appear to have developed resistance to the main chemicals used to control them." #pollination

#Varroamites

Bret Adee, one of the largest US beekeepers, has 55,000 hives used to pollinate crops. As monoculture farming spreads, bees have to be moved across the country, especially for almonds, blueberries and cherries. He lost 75% of his bees over the past year. Photograph: K Brinson/New York Times/Redux/eyevine

Could become a death spiral’: scientists discover what’s driving record die-offs of US #honeybees

#USA 🇺🇸 #USpoli #Food #Health #Nature #Agriculture #FoodCrops #Climate #Environment #Mites #BeeVirus #Amitraz #Pesticides #HabitatLoss #ClimateChange #USDA #Cdnpoli

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