Bye Bye Bees

In recent studies of male honeybees it is shown that two insecticides can drastically reduce the male's ability to reproduce due to a reduction in the living sperm. These two chemicals, thiamethoxam and clothianidin, that are banned in some nations are responsible for a 40 percent reduction of sperm. The insecticide exposure is immediate. This male reproductive issue is responsible for a decline in the honeybee population. For example, bee keepers in the United States have lost 44 percent of their honeybee colonies. The decline in bees is a bigger problem than it seems as many plants that require bee pollination are the basis of the world's food supply which poses an ecological danger. Studies are being done to investigate the other stressors that can affect a honeybee's health other than pesticides in order to help increase population growth.

Killer Bed-Bugs

This article is about something that plagued the industrialized world many years ago, bed bugs. Around the 1950's they would rarely be seen in a home. Today though studies show they are on the rise due to a built up resistance to pesticides. News results pointed that it could be blamed on certain pesticides being used in the tropics. The exposure to the chemicals that used to kill them made them stronger. It was the overusage of the pesticides in these tropical areas that is believed to be the reason why they are on the rise. Some theories point to the military in the area going to extreme measures to keep their soldiers safe. The threat is one that takes dedication because the bed bugs are nocturnal and can hide in a variety of places and the females lay up to 300 eggs at once so the numbers can get out of hands if you don't know you have a problem. This article was found at:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-16010179

The Monarch Butterflies' Fight to Stay Alive

(www.monarch-butterfly.com)

In a New York Times article there is a dispute against whether or not the population of monarch butterflies is being altered due to chemically decreasing their habitat.

Monarch butterflies live for a majority of the time in hotter climates, such as Mexico. For reproduction they migrate to plant larvae on milkweed plants. Milkweeds, however, are a weed to farmers which result in the farmer's own personal crops having difficulties growing. Due to this, the farmers are using chemical pesticides to get rid of the weed. This is a good thing for the farmers because their crops can grow better now without the weed. However, by getting rid of the milkweed plants it decreases the habitat of the monarch butterflies during migration season. Without these milkweeds the butterflies will have no where to place their larvae during their migration.

There is dispute in this idea because some scientists believe that the decrease of milkweed plants is not the only valuable reason for the decrease in monarch butterflies over the past couple of years. One scientist states that changing climate can also be a factor in why numbers are changing. This article does place important reasons on why the decrease in milkweed plants would affect the monarchs, however, there are always multiple sides to one story. Climate is definitely an important factor for many organisms and its rapid change over the past years would have an affect on these beautiful creatures. Hopefully in time there can be a way to help keep the monarch butterflies at a safe population number.