The US government’s latest report on the mysterious disappearance of honeybees points to a parasitic mite as the biggest factor behind colony collapse disorder and downplays the role of controversial pesticides that European officials are planning to ban. Last week’s report from the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Agriculture says there should be further research into the effects of those nerve-agent pesticides, known as neonicotinoids. But it says the studies so far have not shown it to be the biggest hazard facing the bees.
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