The bee population has been dwindling for years, and now scientists have a better handle on why. It turns out pesticides, which disrupt the central nervous systems of insects, disorient bees and make it difficult for them to find their way home. They also reduce the number of queen bees in the hive, which lowers reproductive rates. The Environmental Protection Agency is re-evaluating which chemicals it will allow in pesticides, and last week activists filed a petition seeking to ban neonicotinoids pesticides.
