Experts Uncover Mysteries Behind 3 Million Bee Deaths in a Single Night in the US
The mystery surrounding the deaths of three million bees in a California refuge has finally been cleared out by US officials. Following the finding, experts at the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) conducted an investigation and discovered, according to The Science Times, that the bee colony had been exposed to a “double lethal” level of toxin. As to the USDA investigation, the bees’ demise was attributed to fipronil poisoning.
According to the publication, fipronil is an insecticide that is banned for use in agriculture and landscaping because it may damage an insect’s central nervous system.
The USDA released its results this month, despite the fact that the bees’ catastrophic mortality occurred in September. However, the method by which the bees ingested the toxic material is unknown.
Working at a bee sanctuary, Dominic Peck indicated “malice” in an interview with ABC10.
Since no neighboring orchards had reported using fipronil and no neighboring aperies had perished, we believe there is malice at play. It seems to be aimed at us. We are leaving the region to be safe, but we can’t say that for sure right now,” he said.
Fipronil causes sweating, nausea, vomiting, headaches, stomach discomfort, disorientation, and seizures in people as well.
The bees put up a GoFundMe campaign, surpassing their $10,000 target.
Our bee rescues and successful recuperation are a result of much love, sweat, and bee stings. The experience of this poisoning has been very horrible. You have no idea how upsetting it is to see many days’ worth of suffering from a death spiral for so many bees you looked after, on top of witnessing so many of them die at once. It’s devastating,” the sanctuary’s staff said on the website.
