There is also good news for bees. Scientists have developed a silver bullet from their gut bacteria that is effective against colony-killer varroa mites and the deformed wing virus (DWV) they help to transmit. So reports Science (Jan 31, 2020) in a descriptor note (pp 504-7) and full research article (pp 573-6).
Animal pollinators like bats, birds, butterflies and bees pollinate 75 percent of our crops and over 75 percent of flowering plants. In numbers these amount to 1200 crops and over 180,000 plants, representing more than $212 billion (nps.gov) in economic value.
Finally, from a group of small Indonesian islands, notably Taliabu, near Sulawesi comes the discovery of ten new bird species now added to the scientific record (Science News, Feb 1, 2020, p. 7).
Our earth, this wonder book of why and what keeps surprising us with new pages. Or is it a palimpsest written upon and rewritten?
Meena Miriam Yust is an attorney based in Chicago, Illinois. Educated at Vassar College and Case Western Reserve University School of Law, she published a draft Migratory Insect Treaty with commentary in the Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law.
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
1
1
1
