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Posted Mon Jun 2 2008: from Guardian (UK): Last flight of the honeybee? Close on two million colonies of honeybees across the US have been wiped out. The strange phenomenon, dubbed colony collapse disorder (CCD), is also thought to have claimed the lives of billions of honeybees around the world. In Taiwan, 10 million honeybees were reported to have disappeared in just two weeks, and throughout Europe honeybees are in peril.... "It's those new neonicotinoid pesticides that growers are using," he says. "That's what's messing up the bees' navigation system so they can't find their way home." ... With innocuous brand names such as Gaucho, Assail and Merit, these pesticides are used worldwide, from sunflower fields to apple orchards, lawns to golf courses. The chemicals they contain are an artificial type of nicotine that acts as a neurotoxin that attacks insects' nervous systems on contact or ingestion. Your Quips: No reader quips yet -- be the first! Add your own quip: Limit 144 characters. No links, no promotion, no spam -- just wit. We reserve the right to reuse, remove, or refuse any entry. Your Quip (limit 140 characters, no links, just wit): First name: Email (will not be displayed, nor will we spam you): The text shown in the Web image to the right: More News That Scares Us Silly: Even Low Levels Of Air Pollution May Pose Stroke Risk... [BioBreach] Progress at UN biodiversity forum... [Recovery] del.icio.us Digg Newsvine NowPublic Reddit Facebook StumbleUpon  Explore:  Play:

The ApocaDocs say: Neonicotine gives these bees too much of a buzz. Next Apocadoc: Progress at UN biodiversity forum  Play: It's weekly, funny, and free!