24 September 2015 • No. 39
¶ Bees catch a break. “A federal court has overturned the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s approval of sulfoxaflor, a pesticide linked to the mass die-off of honeybees that pollinate a third of the world’s food supply.”
“Because the EPA’s decision to unconditionally register sulfoxaflor was based on flawed and limited data, we conclude that the unconditional approval was not supported by substantial evidence,” the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit panel wrote in its opinion. —Taylor Hill, “Bees Have Their Day in Court—and Win Big.” Photo at right by Shutterstock.
¶ Fast facts about honeybees.
•Honeybees account for 80% of all insect pollination. Without such pollination, we would see a significant decrease in the yield of fruits and vegetables.
•Bees collect 66 pounds of pollen per year, per hive.
•Honey is the only insect-created food eaten by humans, and it is the only food that includes all the substances necessary to sustain life.
•There is only one “queen” bee in each hive. She lays up to 2000 eggs per day.
• All worker bees are female, but they are not able to reproduce.
• A hive of bees will fly 90,000 miles, the equivalent of three orbits around the earth, to collect 1 kg of honey.
View this fascinating video (3 minute) of the “honeybee dance” For information on how to create a “bee garden” in your yard, see “Plant a Bee Garden—Create an oasis for bees and other pollinators.”
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