Researchers this week have unearthed a clue they believe may explain the European honeybee decline -
The new study of sick bees disclosed fragments of ribosomal RNA in their gut, an indication of damage to the ribosomes, which make proteins necessary for life, according to a study in Tuesday's issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
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"If your ribosome is compromised, then you can't respond to pesticides, you can't respond to fungal infections or bacteria or inadequate nutrition because the ribosome is central to the survival of any organism. You need proteins to survive," May R. Berenbaum, head of the department of entomology at Illinois, said in a statement.
Meanwhile, experts are reminding us how valuable native pollinators such as bumblebees, beetles and other insects can be, and here's a piece from Seattle detailing how the City is helping create habitat for them by turning formerly-grassy parking strips into plant-filled "Pollinator Pathways". |
