US Department of Agriculture calls in university to help study decline as Trump administration staff cuts stingHoneybee deaths have hit record highs in the US, with the unprecedented loss of colonies pushing many beekeepers close to ruin as scientists scramble to identify the main cause of the huge declines.Commercial beekeepers have reported losing more than 60% of their colonies, on average, over the winter, according to an ongoing Project Apis m. survey that covers more than two-thirds of America’s managed bees.We’re running our invertebrate of the year competition again! Between March 24 to April 2, we’ll be profiling a shortlist of ten invertebrates which were chosen by readers and selected by our wildlife writers from over 2500 nominations. The voting will open at midday on Wednesday April 2 until midday Friday April 4, with the winner to be announced on Monday April 7. Continue reading... ...read more read less