Neurospora

were declining and now restricted to a signifi cantly smaller range (Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 108, 662). Looking for possible causes, the researchers found that the declining species had a signifi cantly higher prevalence of infection with Nosema. They also discovered that the declining populations had reduced genetic diversity compared with the stable ones. Establishing causal links between these observations, however, will require further research, the authors say. The authors also observe that the species affected by decline in North America have previously had a wide climatic range. By contrast, studies in Europe have found that species with a narrow climatic range are most at risk. This contrast suggests that different causes and mechanisms may be behind the decline on both continents. The simultaneous threats to both the domesticated honey bees and the wild pollinators are bound to have repercussions throughout the natural environment and are also putting agricultural production and food supplies at risk. George McGavin commented: “The global threat to bees is a greater threat to our survival than global warming. This is a total ecological disaster we can avoid.” Considering the scale of the industries affected, government spending on bee health has remained minuscule. McGavin calls the £1 million support that bee researchers get from the UK government “laughable”. The EU has so far been inactive, but in January the European Commission acknowledged the importance of the problem and announced the installation of a European reference laboratory for bees’ health to be based in France. Tennekes concludes his analysis of the impact of neonicotinoids on wildlife in the Netherlands: “Ground and surface water contamination with persistent insecticides that cause irreversible and cumulative damage to aquatic and terrestrial (non-target) insects must lead to an environmental catastrophe. The data presented here show that it is actually taking place before our eyes, and that it must be stopped.” More research and political action is required to ensure that we don’t, after all, experience what Rachel Carson anticipated 50 years ago: a silent spring.