Mad Bee Disease
Millions of honey bees in France are suffering from “Mad Bee Disease,” becoming too disoriented to find the way back to their hives. If they can’t get home again, they die within hours.
Environmentalists say the problem can be traced to the pesticide Gaucho, sprayed on sunflowers. The French government ordered a two-year extension of a ban on spraying the chemical on sunflower seeds, to allow more study of its impact on the nervous systems of bees.
The National Union of French Beekeepers says that the amount of honey produced has fallen drastically since the pesticide was introduced in 1994. Gaucho is also used on wheat, barley and sugar beets.
read more