Category: SavetheBee

‘Because Insects Are Key to Our Own Survival,’ 73 Scientists Unveil Global Road map to Battle Bugpocalypse.

August 17, 2020

The immediate “no-regret” measures they propose include aggressively curbing planet-heating emissions and the use of synthetic pesticides. by Jessica Corbett, staff writer   Highlighting the “strong scientific consensus that the decline of insects, other arthropods, and biodiversity as a whole, is a very real and serious threat that society must urgently address,” 73 international scientists on … More ‘Because Insects Are Key to Our Own Survival,’ 73 Scientists Unveil Global Road map to Battle Bugpocalypse.

Bumblebees are in drastic decline across Europe and North America owing to hotter and more frequent extremes in temperatures, scientists say.

August 8, 2020

A study suggests the likelihood of a bumblebee population surviving in any given place has declined by 30% in the course of a single human generation. The researchers say the rates of decline appear to be “consistent with a mass extinction”. Peter Soroye, a PhD student at the University of Ottawa and the study’s lead author, said: … More Bumblebees are in drastic decline across Europe and North America owing to hotter and more frequent extremes in temperatures, scientists say.

Bees grooming each other can boost colony immunity.

June 19, 2020

Honeybees that specialise in grooming their nestmates (allogroomers) to ward off pests play a central role in the colony, finds a new UCL and University of Florence study. Allogroomer bees also appear to have stronger immune systems, possibly enabling them to withstand their higher risk of infection, according to the findings published in Scientific Reports. Ectoparasites … More Bees grooming each other can boost colony immunity.

Bees? Please. These plants are putting ants to work, as well.

June 16, 2020

In a world first, Edith Cowan University (ECU) researchers have discovered a plant that has successfully evolved to use both native bees as well as ants– as pollinating agents by overcoming their antimicrobial defences. ECU PhD student Nicola Delnevo discovered the trait in a group of shrubs found in the Swan Coastal Plain in Western … More Bees? Please. These plants are putting ants to work, as well.

Blue Bee Feared to Be Extinct Is Found in Florida.

June 1, 2020

First discovered in 2011, the rare species reappeared recently after nearly a decade of eluding scientists’ watch The indigo insect was last spotted in central Florida in 2016, five years after it was first identified. But this spring, just as Americans began to hunker down because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the rare blue bees, known scientifically as Osmia calaminthae, were rediscovered … More Blue Bee Feared to Be Extinct Is Found in Florida.

‘Bee’ thankful for the evolution of pollen Researchers discover wildflower’s spiny pollen adapts to help plants reproduce.

May 26, 2020

Have pollen. Must travel. Over 80% of the world’s flowering plants must reproduce in order to produce new flowers, according to the U.S. Forest Service. This process involves the transfer of pollen between plants by wind, water or insects called pollinators — including bumblebees. In a new study, researchers at the University of Missouri discovered … More ‘Bee’ thankful for the evolution of pollen Researchers discover wildflower’s spiny pollen adapts to help plants reproduce.

World’s largest bee, missing for 38 years, found alive in Indonesia.

May 22, 2020

Biologists discover single female Wallace’s giant bee inside a termites’ nest in a tree. As long as an adult thumb, with jaws like a stag beetle and four times larger than a honeybee, Wallace’s giant bee is not exactly inconspicuous. But after going missing, feared extinct, for 38 years, the world’s largest bee has been rediscovered alive and well on the Indonesian … More World’s largest bee, missing for 38 years, found alive in Indonesia.

Technology tracks ‘bee talk’ to help improve honey bee health.

April 17, 2020

Simon Fraser University graduate student Oldooz Pooyanfar is monitoring what more than 20,000 honeybees housed in hives in a Cloverdale field are “saying” to each other — looking for clues about their health. Pooyanfar’s technology is gleaning communication details from sound within the hives with her beehive monitoring system — technology she developed at SFU. … More Technology tracks ‘bee talk’ to help improve honey bee health.

Insecticides are becoming more toxic to honey bees.

April 11, 2020

During the past 20 years, insecticides applied to U.S. agricultural landscapes have become significantly more toxic — over 120-fold in some mid-western states — to honey bees when ingested, according to a team of researchers, who identified rising neonicotinoid seed treatments in corn and soy as the primary driver of this change. The study is … More Insecticides are becoming more toxic to honey bees.

U.S. beekeepers lost over 40 percent of colonies last year, highest winter losses ever recorded.

April 8, 2020

Results point to a need for increased research, extension, and best management practices. Beekeepers across the United States lost 40.7% of their honey bee colonies from April 2018 to April 2019, according to preliminary results of the latest annual nationwide survey conducted by the University of Maryland-led nonprofit Bee Informed Partnership. Honey bees pollinate $15 billion … More U.S. beekeepers lost over 40 percent of colonies last year, highest winter losses ever recorded.