Climate change is killing bumblebees: Study A new study has drawn a direct link between climate change and the global decline in bumblebee populations.

Chemicals are routinely applied around residential landscapes to kill insect pests and troublesome weeds, but many are indiscriminate and devastate pollinators in the process.

Over the past 30-plus years, pollinator populations have crashed worldwide due to a variety of reasons, including pesticide and herbicide exposure, invasive pests and diseases, loss of habitat, loss of species and genetic diversity, and a changing climate, scientists say. Continue reading Climate change is killing bumblebees

Rampant pesticide use and habitat loss has already crippled bumblebee populations. New research now shows that warming temperatures around the world will further push bumblebees to the brink of extinction, as The New York Times reported.

Continue reading Bumblebees Face Climate Crisis Extinction

Continue reading Save bumble bees, plant these flowers

In response to the population decline of pollinating insects, such as wild bees and monarch butterflies, researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory are investigating ways to use “pollinator-friendly solar power.

By studying solar energy facilities with pollinator habitats on site, researchers hope to rehabilitate pollinator populations that play a crucial role in the national and global agricultural industries. Loss of such species could devastate crop production, costs and nutrition on a global scale.

Though small, insects are at least partially responsible for pollinating nearly 75 percent of all crops world-wide consumed by humans in their daily diet. As man-made environmental stressors – including pesticides and land development – have increased, insect pollinators have lost habitats and species have declined significantly. Continue reading Can solar energy save the bees?

Scientists are researching the potential consequences of the rapid decline of the honey bee population in the U.S. and how to mitigate its effects before it causes dire problems for crop management and production.

Honey bees are essential for the pollination of flowers, fruits and vegetables, and support about $20 billion worth of crop production in the U.S. annually, Matthew Mulica, senior project manager at the Keystone Policy Center, a consulting company that works with the Honey Bee Health Coalition, told ABC News.

Worldwide, honey bees and other pollinators help to produce about $170 billion in crops, Scott McArt, assistant professor of pollinator health at Cornell University, told ABC News. WATCH THE VIDEO Continue reading 40% decline in honey bee population VIDEO