PLANET IN PERIL

CBCnews Competition recognizes post-secondary schools working to improve sustainability. Story here. Honeybee on blossom. Wikimedia Commons photo.

EcoWatch Aerial spraying of the pesticide naled in a South Carolina county, done in an attempt to prevent Zika-infected mosquitoes from gaining a foothold in the state, resulted instead in the massacre of millions of honeybees . Story here.

CommonDreams       Bumblebees on chives.  PinP  photo. The negative effects that have been reported before, scale up to long-term, large-scale, multi-species impacts that are harmful.   Story here.

Aussie Network News                                                                                                                           PinP photo. Experts around the world have warned that bee population is declining. Now, a study reveals that the number of honey bee colonies dropped by almost 12 percent last winter. Story here.

John Bennett Honeybee photo by Joydeep Enough is enough.  With your help we’re heading to court to get bee killing pesticides off the market. Story here.

Friends of the Earth Honeybee photo by  Joydeep Neonicotinoid pesticides have been linked to mass bee die-offs and declining pollinator populations. Story here.

Nation of Change                                                           Honeybee on milkthistle plant. Photo credit:  Fir0002 Dave Schuit, a honey-producer in Elmwood, Canada,   said that his farm lost  37 million bees   almost immediately  after a nearby farm began planting GMO corn and spraying neonics on their crops.  Story here.

SumOfUs Bumblebees on Chives. PinP photo. Bees are dying by the million -- so what is Bayer, one of the world's biggest producers of bee-killing pesticides, doing about it? Details here. RELATED:   "New Studies Show Farm Chemicals Are Affecting More Than Bees. Bird Populations are Declining, Too. Is modern agriculture's hold on nature becoming a death grip?"

environment360 PinP  photo. As they investigate the factors behind the decline of bee populations, scientists are now eyeing a new culprit — soaring levels of carbon dioxide, which alter plant physiology and significantly reduce protein in important sources of pollen.  Story here.

Nation of Change  Canadian beekeeper Tim Wendell.  PinP photo The Bee Informed Partnership, in collaboration with the Apiary Inspectors of America and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, report losing 44 percent of their total number of colonies managed over the last year—close to the highest annual loss in the past six years. Story here. NOTE: Latest available figures show Canada in much better shape. According to the Canadian Association of Professional Apiculturists, colony loss here, nationwide over the winter of 2014-15  was just 16.4%.

The Washington Post Beekeepers at Fort Whyte Centre,  Winnipeg, MB. PinP photo. Until now, most assessments of pollinator health have been conducted on a regional basis, focusing on certain countries or parts of the world. But this week, a United Nations organization has released the first-ever global assessment of pollinators, highlighting their importance for worldwide food and nutrition, describing the threats they currently face and outlining strategies to protect them. Story here.

Sum    Of + Us PinP photo. Jonathan Lundgren was an award-winning scientist for 11 years with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. But once he started publishing data linking pesticides to bee and butterfly die-offs, he was ordered to stop talking. Help Jonathan by  donating!

the guardian Risk evaluation could pave the way for a rolling back of the hard won EU-wide ban on three neonicotinoid pesticides. More here. Other insects are lesser, but still significant pollinators. Like this common "Hoverfly." PinP photo.

CommonDreams Friends of the Earth calls for agency to suspend bee-toxic pesticides. More here.

The Ecologist Bumble bees on chives. PinP photo. Wild bee decline is closely associated with the advance of intensive farming and habitat loss, a new study shows. It follows an earlier paper that linked 'delayed action' decline of wild bees to exposure to pesticides including fungicides - previously considered 'bee-safe'. More here.

theguardian An abundant apple tree. PinP  photo. New findings on neonicotinoids have important implications as many food crops and wildflowers rely on bee pollination to reproduce. Details here.

Common Dreams PinP photo. 'Neonics' have been linked to decline in bee populations. Story here. RELATED:  New Studies Show Farm Chemicals Are Affecting More Than Bees. Bird Populations are Declining, Too. Is modern agriculture’s toxic hold on nature becoming a death grip? Bees on sunflower.  PinP photo.

CommonDreams Temporary reversal on pesticide will allow farmers to access harmful chemicals for 120 days. Story here.

The New York Times PinP photo More than 70 percent of pollen and honey samples collected from foraging bees in Massachusetts contained neonicotinoids, a type of insecticide that has been linked to colony collapse disorder, researchers are reporting. Story here.