After an intensive selection process, Endangered Species Chocolate (ESC) is pleased to announce its 10% GiveBack partners for 2013-2015 are African Wildlife Foundation(AWF) and the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation (Xerces). This is the third partnership for AWF and the first for Xerces. Both organizations will receive 10 percent of ESC net profits or a guaranteed minimum contribution of $10,000 annually.

By: Josephine Marcotty, The Star Tribune.

Danny Serfling knew he was in trouble in July. Tiny white worms in the soil had eaten away the anchoring roots on half of his corn, and in one big storm last summer, the stalks toppled like sticks.

By Josephine Marcotty, The Star Tribune

Ellis and other beekeepers across the country say they know why they are facing astronomical losses of bees: agricultural insecticides. The companies that make the chemicals disagree, but they don’t dispute the problem. On average, beekeepers are losing 30 to 40 percent of their bees every year.

By Phyllis Stiles, Citizen-Times.com

As we gather around the Thanksgiving table this year, perhaps we can take a moment to thank the hardworking pollinators that helped most of our food grow.

According to the U.S.Department of Agriculture, about one-third of the human diet comes from insect-pollinated plants, and the honeybee is responsible for 80 percent of that pollination. Even the plants that cows eat (alfalfa and clover) to make milk, cheese, butter, ice cream and beef, depend on pollinators.

By Edith Munro, Growing Produce

Growers interested in promoting native bee populations as a back-up to honey bee pollination can now tap into new “how-to” information resources, according to speakers at a Native Pollinators in Agriculture field day held on Sept. 11, in Orange County, CA.

By Edith Munro, California Farmer

Good data already demonstrate that California hedgerows support native bee populations, Vaughan reported, noting that farmers across the country are incorporating pollinator habitat into their conservation practices. For growers, the greatest need has been for practical “how-to” information on encouraging native pollinators.

By: Jeff Nelson, The Daily Astorian

Nature and science were the focus at Sunset Beach Saturday, as the Lewis and Clark National Historical Park and North Coast Land Conservancy presented the 2012 Clatsop Plains BioBlitz.

The day-long event was best described by organizers as “part biodiversity festival, part scientific endeavor and part outdoor classroom.” Working as citizen scientists, the public joined teams of science specialists to document as many invertebrate species as possible, including beetles, spiders and bugs.

By: Brandon Keim, Wired Science

A controversial type of pesticide linked to declining global bee populations appears to scramble bees’ sense of direction, making it hard for them to find home. Starved of foragers and the pollen they carry, colonies produce fewer queens, and eventually collapse.

By: Susan Milius, Science News

What does not kill them does not in fact make them stronger when it comes to bees and pesticides. Two unusual studies with free-flying bumblebees and honeybees find that survivable exposure to certain pesticides can lead to delayed downturns in bee royalty and a subtle erosion of workforces.

By: Marian Lyman Kirst, High Country News

This December, the Xerces Society celebrated its 40th anniversary. Not bad for a group that champions the spineless.