Bees fitted with tiny ID tags for study

By Emily Beament, Press Association
June 22

Bees are being fitted with tiny radio ID tags to monitor their movements as part of research into whether pesticides could be giving the insects brain disorders, scientists said today.

The study is examining concerns that pesticides could be damaging bees' abilities to gather food, navigate and even perform their famous "waggle dance" through which they tell other bees where nectar can be found.

The research is part of a raft of studies which will look at declines in pollinators including bees, hoverflies, butterflies and moths, amid fears over the impact of their falling numbers.

Experts said three of the UK's 25 bumblebee species had gone extinct, while half had suffered declines of up to 70%.

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