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<DIV><FONT lang=0 color=#000000 size=2 face=Arial FAMILY="SANSSERIF"
PTSIZE="10">Thanks to Chip Taylor for this.
<HR>
From: chip@ku.edu<BR>To: Ladadams@aol.com<BR>Sent: 3/1/2013 7:48:01 A.M. Pacific
Standard Time<BR>Subj: Fwd: CATCH THE BUZZ - Bees in Trouble, So Are
Crops<BR></DIV>
<DIV>
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<DIV>Date: Fri, 1 Mar 2013 08:40:31 -0600<BR>To: <chip@ku.edu><BR>From:
Kim Flottum <Kim@BeeCulture.com><BR>Subject: CATCH THE BUZZ - Bees in
Trouble, So Are Crops<BR>X-Ezezine: (1636.25562.4009)<BR></DIV>
<DIV>This ezine is also available online at <A
title=http://home.ezezine.com/1636/1636-2013.03.01.08.40.archive.html
href="http://home.ezezine.com/1636/1636-2013.03.01.08.40.archive.html">http://home.ezezine.com/1636/1636-2013.03.01.08.40.archive.html</A><BR></DIV>
<DIV>CATCH THE BUZZ <BR></DIV>
<DIV>Loss of wild insects hurts crops around the world<BR></DIV>
<DIV><BR> </DIV>
<DIV>Researchers studying data from 600 fields in 20 countries have found that
managed honey bees are not as successful at pollinating crops as wild insects,
primarily wild bees, suggesting the continuing loss of wild insects in many
agricultural landscapes has negative consequences for crop harvests.<BR></DIV>
<DIV>The study, which prompts an urgent call to maintain and manage pollinator
diversity for long-term agricultural production, is published today in the
prestigious journal Science.<BR></DIV>
<DIV>The 50 international researchers, including Lawrence Harder, professor in
the Department of Biological Sciences in the Faculty of Science at the <A
title=http:// href="">University</A> of Calgary, analysed data from 41
crop systems around the world including fruits, seeds, nuts, and coffee to
examine the consequences of having abundant wild pollinators for crop
pollination.<BR></DIV>
<DIV>"Our study demonstrates that production of many fruit and seed crops that
make <A title=http:// href="">diets</A> interesting, such as
tomatoes, coffee and watermelon, is limited because their flowers are not
adequately pollinated," says Harder. "We also show that adding more honey bees
often does not fix this problem, but that increased service by wild insects
would help."<BR></DIV>
<DIV>Flowers of most crops need to receive pollen before making seeds and
fruits, a process that is enhanced by insects that visit flowers. These
pollinators, including bees, flies, butterflies and beetles, usually live in
natural or semi-natural habitats, such as the edges of forests, hedgerows or
grasslands. As these habitats are lost, primarily owing to conversion to
agriculture, the abundance and diversity of pollinators decline and crops
receive fewer visits from wild insects.<BR></DIV>
<DIV>The study found that the proportion of flowers producing fruits was
considerably lower in sites with fewer wild insects visiting crop flowers.
Therefore, the reduction of wild insects in agricultural landscapes will
likely impact both our natural heritage and agricultural harvest.<BR></DIV>
<DIV>"Paradoxically, most common approaches to increase agricultural
efficiency, such as cultivation of all available land and the use of
pesticides, reduce the abundance and variety of wild insects that could
increase production of these crops," says Harder. "Our study highlights the
benefits of considering this paradox in designing and implementing
agricultural systems."<BR></DIV>
<DIV>The study suggests that new practices for integrated management of both
honey bees and wild insects will enhance global yields of animal-pollinated
crops and promote long-term agricultural production. These practices should
include conservation or restoration of natural or semi-natural areas within
croplands, <A title=http:// href="">promotion</A> of a variety of
land use, addition of diverse floral and nesting resources, and more prudent
use of insecticides that can kill pollinators.<BR></DIV>
<HR>
<DIV>Quality Top Bar Hive by Gold Star Honeybees - good for you,
good for your bees, good for the planet. Check us out at <A
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href="http://www.goldstarhoneybees.com/">www.goldstarhoneybees.com</A>.<BR></DIV>
<DIV>This message brought to you by <A title=http://www.beeculture.com/
href="http://www.beeculture.com/">Bee Culture,</A> The Magazine Of
American Beekeeping, published by the <A
title=http://www.rootcandles.com/ href="http://www.rootcandles.com/">A.I. Root
Company.</A><BR></DIV>
<DIV>Free practical insights, helpful information, and fun from <A
title=https://kelleybees.com/ href="https://kelleybees.com/">Award Winning
Kelley Bees's</A> monthly newsletter.<BR></DIV>
<DIV>Need more bees? Need better bees? Feed Global Patties for
better bee health, production, wintering and survival. Hungry hives
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Try Global Patties and see the difference. <A
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<DIV><BR></DIV>
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<DIV>Little Bee Books at <A title=http://www.littlebeebooks.com/
href="http://www.littlebeebooks.com/">www.littlebeebooks.com</A>. Take a
look today.<BR></DIV>
<DIV>Subscribe to Malcolm Sanford's <A
title=http://www.apis.shorturl.com/ href="http://www.apis.shorturl.com/">Apis
Newsletter</A> right here for a comprehensive listing of beekeeping
events around the country and around the globe, check out Bee
Culture's <A title=http://my.calendars.net/bee_culture/
href="http://my.calendars.net/bee_culture/">Global Beekeeping
Calendar</A><BR></DIV>
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<DIV><BR></DIV><X-SIGSEP><PRE>--
</PRE></X-SIGSEP>
<DIV>Chip Taylor<BR>chip@ku.edu<BR>Monarch
Watch<BR>http://www.MonarchWatch.org/<BR>Dplex-L: send message "info
Dplex-L" to Listproc@ku.edu<BR>1-888-TAGGING -or- 1-785-864-4441<BR>University
of Kansas<BR>1200 Sunnyside Avenue<BR>Lawrence, KS 66045-7534<BR>Create,
Conserve, and Protect Monarch
Habitats</DIV></FONT></BLOCKQUOTE></DIV></FONT></DIV></FONT></BODY></HTML>