Some honeybee deaths may be preventable, experts say

By PATRICK LYONS
Capital News Service
LANSING — New research has linked honeybee colony deaths with insecticides used on corn and soybean seeds, but experts said it’s not the only thing wiping out bees that are essential for pollinating other crops. Purdue University researchers said that so-called neonicotinoid insecticides have been found in dead hives. Farmers use the chemicals to treat corn and soybean seeds prior to planting. The insecticides are spread through the release of talc that keeps the seeds from sticking together inside planters. The talc then settles on plants adjacent to the fields, like dandelions.