Category: climate change

Scientists track gene activity when honey bees do and don’t eat honey: Significant differences depending on diet

May 8, 2017

Many beekeepers feed their honey bees sucrose or high-fructose corn syrup when times are lean inside the hive. This practice has come under scrutiny, however, in response to colony collapse disorder, the massive — and as yet not fully explained — annual die-off of honey bees in the U.S. and Europe. Some suspect that inadequate … More Scientists track gene activity when honey bees do and don’t eat honey: Significant differences depending on diet

The weaker sex: Male honey bees more susceptible than females to widespread intestinal parasite

May 6, 2017

A research team has found that male European honey bees, or drones, are much more susceptible than female European honey bees, known as workers, to a fungal intestinal parasite called Nosema ceranae. Originally from Asia, Nosema ceranae has rapidly spread throughout the world, and may contribute to the high number of colony deaths now observed … More The weaker sex: Male honey bees more susceptible than females to widespread intestinal parasite

New data unearths pesticide peril in beehives

May 4, 2017

Honeybees create honey in their hive through the topped-out combs, and they keep beebread — their food — in the other combs. Credit: © gudrin / Fotolia Honeybees — employed to pollinate crops during the blooming season — encounter danger due to lingering and wandering pesticides, according to a new Cornell University study that analyzed … More New data unearths pesticide peril in beehives

Ball-rolling bees reveal complex learning

March 28, 2017

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

Neonicotinoid insecticides linked to wild bee decline across England

October 31, 2016

Exposure to neonicotinoid seed treated oilseed rape crops has been linked to long-term population decline of wild bee species across the English countryside, according to research by the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, published in Nature Communications. The research, led by the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology using data provided by Fera Science Ltd and … More Neonicotinoid insecticides linked to wild bee decline across England

Wild bee decline threatens US crop production

October 24, 2016

Following Obama’s call for pollinator assessment, first-ever national bee map shows much farmland at risk The first national study to map  US wild bees, from the University of Vermont, suggests they’re disappearing in many of the country’s most important farmlands. If losses of these pollinators continue, the new nationwide assessment indicates that farmers will face … More Wild bee decline threatens US crop production

Pollinators Help One-third Of The World’s Food Crop Production

October 20, 2016

Pollinators affect 35 percent of the world’s food crop production, increasing the output of 87 of the leading crops worldwide, finds a study co-authored by a UC Berkeley conservation biologist. The study is the first global estimate of food crop production that is reliant upon animal pollination. It comes one week after a National Research … More Pollinators Help One-third Of The World’s Food Crop Production

Making a home for Leaf-cutter bees

September 21, 2016

Suzanne Rex, a volunteer assistant at the Bumblebee Conservation, England, has had her eyes opened to the huge diversity and importance of pollinators in our world. One group of bees which she finds particularly interesting are Leaf-cutter bees and here she writes about them. Leaf-cutter bee (Megachile sp.) in a nest. Photo: Anne Donelly”As well … More Making a home for Leaf-cutter bees