Forgot your password?

Close
typodupeerror

+ - Colony Collapse Disorder Linked to...High-Fructose Corn Syrup?-> 2

Submitted by hondo77
hondo77 writes "Researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health "...have re-created the mysterious Colony Collapse Disorder in several honeybee hives simply by giving them small doses of a popular pesticide, imidacloprid." This follows recently-reported studies also linked the disorder to neonicotinoid pesticides. What is really interesting is the link to when the disorder started appearing, 2006. "That mechanism? High-fructose corn syrup. Many bee-keepers have turned to high-fructose corn syrup to feed their bees, which the researchers say did not imperil bees until U.S. corn began to be sprayed with imidacloprid in 2004-2005. A year later was the first outbreak of Colony Collapse Disorder.""
Link to Original Source
This discussion was created for logged-in users only, but now has been archived. No new comments can be posted.

Colony Collapse Disorder Linked to...High-Fructose Corn Syrup? More

Colony Collapse Disorder Linked to...High-Fructose Corn Syrup?

Comments Filter:

  • Bees are going to get a lot more of that chemical when they're pollinating the plants than what little (if any) is found in corn syrup.

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by Panmodal (2611553)
      An implication of the corn syrup link is that bees might be exposed to imidacloprid (via HFCS) even if the pesticide is not used on flowering plants in the hive's foraging range. But, as you say, the story isn't clear about whether imidacloprid has been conclusively found in HFCS, and to what level, or if that conclusion is based on the apparent correlation between the use of imidacloprid on corn, and an increase in colony collapse. The study is at least suggestive enough to warrant further investigation,

Begathon, n.: A multi-day event on public television, used to raise money so you won't have to watch commercials.

Close