Dead bees in Brazil: more than 500,000 people, more than 500,000 honey bees in Brazil in the space of three months – environmentalists worried

According to Bloomberg, more than half a billion bees have died in Brazil in less than three months. Researchers say that pesticides are the leading cause of death, which could have more serious consequences than bees.

As the most integrated pollinators of nature, bees contribute to the reproduction of various plants. According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), about 75% of the world's crops depend on pollination by bees.

FAO warned of the importance of protecting bees to ensure food security. With 500 million deaths in Brazil, the future of food is being questioned.

Beekeepers from four Brazilian states have reported massive death of bees. In the Rio Grande do Sul alone, 400 million dead bees have been found.

Aldo Machado, vice president of the beekeeping association of Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil, told Bloomberg that his colony was decimated less than 48 hours after some bees showed signs of disease.

"As soon as the healthy bees started cleaning the hives of the dying bees, they were contaminated and they started to die en masse," said Machado.

Laboratory research indicates that pesticides containing neonicotinoids and fipronil – banned products in Europe – are the leading cause of death for most bees in Brazil. The use of these pesticides to kill bees has skyrocketed under former president Michel Temer and current president Jair Bolsonaro, according to Greenpeace's Unearthed.

In just three years, 193 herbicides and pesticides containing banned chemicals in the European Union have been registered in Brazil, revealed the Unearthed investigation. Brazil has become the largest buyer of pesticides in the world.

In Brazil, the mass of bees was killed this year, but the link between pesticides and the decline of bee populations has long been studied. According to a 2014 study at Harvard University, pesticides play a key role in the destruction of the honey bee population in the United States.

Colony Collapse Syndrome (CCD) has been affecting the US bee population since 2006. This disorder causes the bees to disappear from their hives. Although the root cause of CCD is a mystery, many experts believe that several factors, including pesticides, are the driving force – especially neonicotinoid pesticides.