New research led by the UK’s Centre for Ecology & Hydrology has revealed for the first time that flower-rich habitats are key to enhancing the survival of bumblebee families between years The results, which come from the largest ever study of its kind on wild bumblebee populations, will help farmers and policy makers manage the … More Flower-rich habitats increase survival of bumblebee families
Bumblebees can be trained to score goals using a mini-ball, revealing unprecedented learning abilities, according to scientists at Queen Mary University of London (QMUL). Their study, published in the journal Science, suggests that species whose lifestyle demands advanced learning abilities could learn entirely new behaviours if there is ecological pressure. Project supervisor and co-author Professor … More Ball-rolling bees reveal complex learning
Small as they are, bumblebee brains are surprisingly capable of mastering novel, complex tasks and, despite their sesame seed-sized brains, they are smarter than we think. By Brian Handwerk smithsonian.com “Often people view insects as unthinking machines,” says Clint Perry. a biologist who studies the evolution of cognition in insects at Queen Mary University … More Bees Can Learn to Play “Soccer.” Score One for Insect Intelligence
Honeybees—pollinators that serve as the matchmakers of the floral kingdom—are dying off in droves, frightening environmentalists and scientists who fear the unfilled natural niche that collapsing bee colonies leave behind. Those concerns hit the national stage last month when President Obama launched a federal investigation to find out what is driving the decline.All of that … More The Costly Lobbying War Over America’s Dying Honeybees
The ‘game,’ which involves pushing a ball into a designated area for a reward, is unlike most behaviors a bee would be instinctively prepared for in the wild. During the game, the bees demonstrated more complex individual cognitive abilities than the insects are usually given credit for. Weston Williams Bees aren’t known for being brainy. While … More Researchers teach bees to play their own version of golf
Save The Bees Concert 