AGRICULTURE Honeybees in Retreat Honeybees have been dying en masse since about 2005, and now the malady responsible — colony collapse disorder — appears to be advancing. Last year, 40 to 50 percent of the hives needed to pollinate fruit and vegetables in the United States were lost, commercial beekeepers say. Exactly what causes colony […]

AGRICULTURE Honeybees in Retreat Honeybees have been dying en masse since about 2005, and now the malady responsible — colony collapse disorder — appears to be advancing. Last year, 40 to 50 percent of the hives needed to pollinate fruit and vegetables in the United States were lost, commercial beekeepers say. Exactly what causes colony […]

A conclusive explanation so far has escaped scientists studying the ailment, colony collapse disorder, since it first surfaced around 2005. But beekeepers and some researchers say there is growing evidence that a powerful new class of pesticides known as neonicotinoids, incorporated into the plants themselves, could be an important factor. The pesticide industry disputes that. […]

A conclusive explanation so far has escaped scientists studying the ailment, colony collapse disorder, since it first surfaced around 2005. But beekeepers and some researchers say there is growing evidence that a powerful new class of pesticides known as neonicotinoids, incorporated into the plants themselves, could be an important factor. The pesticide industry disputes that. […]

PARIS — When it comes to bees, Brussels wants to think things over a bit longer. A proposed measure to restrict the use of pesticides that have been implicated in bee die-offs around the world was left in limbo on Friday, after representatives from Britain and Germany, two of the largest E.U. members, abstained from […]

A proposed measure to restrict the use of pesticides that have been implicated in bee die-offs around the world was left in limbo on Friday, after representatives from Britain and Germany, two of the largest members of the European Union, abstained from the voting in Brussels. The move left the committee without the needed qualified […]

In a case closely watched on both sides of the Atlantic, European officials plan to vote Friday on a proposal to sharply restrict the use of pesticides that had been implicated in the decline of global bee populations. The vote in Brussels, by officials from all 27 European Union member states, follows a January report […]

And they don’t need to stand in line for a triple soy latte. A new study shows that the naturally caffeine-laced nectar of some plants enhances the learning process for bees, so that they are more likely to return to those flowers. “The plant is using this as a drug to change a pollinator’s behavior […]

And they don’t need to stand in line for a triple soy latte. A new study shows that the naturally caffeine-laced nectar of some plants enhances the learning process for bees, so that they are more likely to return to those flowers. “The plant is using this as a drug to change a pollinator’s behavior […]

The difficulty of your problem lies in the specificity of your desire. If you framed your situation in abstract terms — “Can I choose to do something for my own happiness that will potentially damage those whom I most love?” — it would seem as if the safest advice would be to place others before […]