The rusty-patched bumble bee (“Bombus affinis”) found by a Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute research team. (Photos: Sam Droege) The rusty-patched bumble bee (Bombus affinis), which has not been seen in the eastern United States in five years, has been found by a Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute research team at Sky Meadows State Park in Delaplane, … More Rare rusty-patched bumble bee discovered in Virginia survey

Well qualified bumblebees are not prepared to share their pollinating knowledge with less experienced bees, according to new research. … More Selfish bumblebees are not prepared to share expertise

Kuala Lumpur – 26 February, 2016 – A growing number of pollinator species worldwide are being driven toward extinction by diverse pressures, many of them human-made, threatening millions of livelihoods and hundreds of billions of dollars worth of food supplies, according to the first global assessment of pollinators. However, the assessment, a two-year study conducted and released today … More Pollinators Vital to Our Food Supply Under Threat of Extinction

Low levels of pesticides can impact the foraging behavior of bumblebees on wildflowers, changing their floral preferences and hindering their ability to learn the skills needed to extract nectar and pollen. Low levels of pesticides can impact the foraging behavior of bumblebees on wild flowers, according to a study co-authored by a University of Guelph … More Bee flower choices altered by exposure to pesticides

WASHINGTON– The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a preliminary pollinator risk assessment for the neonicotinoid insecticide, imidacloprid, which shows a threat to some pollinators. EPA’s assessment, prepared in collaboration with California’s Department of Pesticide Regulation, indicates that imidacloprid potentially poses risk to hives when the pesticide comes in contact with certain crops that attract … More Environmental Protection Agency Releases the First of Four Preliminary Risk Assessments for Insecticides Potentially Harmful to Bees

Around the world, the animals that pollinate our food crops — over 20,000 species of bees, butterflies, bats and many others — are the subject of growing attention. An increasing number of pollinator species are thought to be in decline, threatened by a variety of mostly human pressures, and their struggles could pose significant risks for global food … More Unprecedented scientific report says bees and other pollinators are in dire need of help

Researchers are studying how to preserve pollinators and wildflowers along the state’s roadsides. The best-known pollinators are bees, but researchers are studying butterflies as roadside pollinators. Among their other benefits, butterflies serve as indicator organisms. Mowing less frequently along Florida’s highways boosts pollinator and wildflower biodiversity and would likely save money on gasoline and manpower, … More Mow less along highways, preserve pollinators, researchers say