Bee research details harm from insecticides (REPORT)

(PHOTO: WashingtonPost) New research has begun to unravel the mystery of why bees are disappearing in alarming numbers worldwide: Some of the pesticides most commonly used by farmers appear to be changing bee behavior in small but fatal ways. 2 new studies found that honeybees & bumblebees had trouble foraging for food & returning with it to their hives after exposure to the new insecticides, which is widely used to protect grains, cotton, beans, vegetables & many other crops. The new pesticides have been welcomed as an environmental plus because, by almost all accounts, they are less harmful to other wildlife than previous pesticides.  Although the authors of the studies published Thursday in the journal Science do not conclude that the pesticides - called neonicotinoids, derived from the same nicotine found in tobacco - are the sole cause of the decline in bees or the more immediate & worrisome phenomenon known as colony collapse disorder, they say the omnipresent chemicals have a clearly harmful effect on beehives.  The neonicotinoid pesticides are introduced directly into the seeds of crops planted by farmers & permeate the entire plant as it grows - including the pollen & nectar the bees feed on, killing them by attacking their central nervous systems.  Researchers found a sharp drop in the number of queen bumblebees produced, a decrease in the size & weight of beehives, & a demonstrated increase in the number of bees unable to find their way home.  (Read more in Science)