Scientists believe this is evidence that glyphosate might be contributing to the decline of honey bees and native bees around the world. “We need better guidelines for glyphosate use, especially regarding bee exposure, because right now the guidelines assume bees are not harmed by the herbicide,” said Erick Motta, the graduate student who led the … More Common weed killer linked to bee deaths.
Varroa mites do not feed on bee blood (hemolymph fluid) Research by scientists at the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and the University of Maryland released today sheds new light and reverses decades of scientific dogma regarding a honey bee pest (Varroa destructor) that is considered the greatest single driver of the global honey bee colony losses. Managed honey … More Microscopy research helps unravel the workings of a major honey bee pest.
Biologists at the University of California San Diego have demonstrated for the first time that a widely used pesticide can significantly impair the ability of otherwise healthy honey bees to fly, raising concerns about how pesticides affect their capacity to pollinate and the long-term effects on the health of honey bee colonies. Previous research has … More Common pesticide damages honey bees’ ability to fly
In hives, graduating to forager a requirement for social membership. It is a classic coming-of-age story, in many ways. A honey bee hatches and grows up deep inside a hive. Surrounded by 40,000 of her closest relatives, this dark and constantly buzzing place is all that she knows. Only after she turns 21 days old … More Earning a bee’s wings
It should come as no surprise that the use of Roundup comes with many negative effects, not just on humans, but the environment. Things that live in our environment also cannot escape the consequences of Roundup. For example, a recent study published by The Journal of Experimental Biology found that Roundup actually causes honeybees to starve. It … More Study shows honeybees are starving because of roundup
According to recent studies, declines in wild and managed bee populations threaten the pollination of flowers in more than 85 percent of flowering plants and 75 percent of agricultural crops worldwide. Widespread and effective monitoring of bee populations could lead to better management; however, tracking bees is tricky and costly. Now, a research team led … More Bee buzzes could help determine how to save their decreasing population
The honey bee gut is colonized by specialized bacteria that help digest components of the floral pollen diet and produce molecules that likely promote bee health. In a study publishing 12 December in the open access journal PLOS Biology, a group of researchers led by Philipp Engel at the University of Lausanne and ETH Zürich, Switzerland, … More How honey bee gut bacteria help to digest their pollen-rich diet
It turns out the little striped insects are also quite clever. A new study suggests that, despite having tiny brains, bees understand the mathematical concepts of addition and subtraction. To test the numeracy of the arthropods, researchers set up unique Y-shaped math mazes for the bees to navigate, according to Nicola Davis at the The Guardian. … More Bees are impressive creatures, powering entire ecosystems via pollination and making sweet honey at the same time, one of the most incredible substances in nature.
MARC STEINER: In 2016 I covered the battle by farmers and environmentalists to stop Bayer and Monsanto from merging into one company. The Department of Justice just ruled that the merger of these two corporate giants could take place. You know the name Bayer as aspirin. You might take an Aleve now and then for your … More A Frightening Review of Recent Chemical Company Megamergers, Not to Mention the Thousands of Lawsuits Against the Tragic Effects
Bees exposed to a neonicotinoid pesticide fly only a third of the distance that unexposed bees are able to achieve. Flight behaviour is crucial for determining how bees forage, so reduced flight performance from pesticide exposure could lead to colonies going hungry and pollination services being impacted. Foraging bees are essential pollinators for the crops … More Pesticide exposure causes bumblebee flight to fall short
Save The Bees Concert 