On Thursday January 28th at 7.30 pm Professor Stuart Reynolds of the University of Bath will speak on “Insect pollinators in trouble”. The lecture replaces the one by Dr Richard James on “Collective decision making in animal assemblies” originally scheduled for this date.
In recent years, insect pollinators – especially honey bees, bumble bees and solitary bees – have experienced massive worldwide declines in numbers, with potentially serious implications for agriculture. The causes include habitat loss associated with intensive farming, worldwide spread of bee parasites and diseases, and the use of systemic neonicotinoid insecticides. Honeybees may be at particular risk, in part because of their unusual genetic sex-determination system. Recent efforts to alleviate the problem, including the European ban on neonics, recently lifted in the UK, will be discussed.