Category: Uncategorized

Over 1 BILLION. That’s how many pounds of lethal pesticides we spray every year. More than 1 billion pounds of toxic chemicals that kill pollinators and endanger our food supply.

October 15, 2020

The European Union banned dangerous neonicotinoid pesticides more than TWO YEARS AGO, knowing they contribute to mass pollinator deaths. So why does the U.S. still use them? Because they make big money for corporations like Bayer-Monsanto. These and other Big Polluters are driving bumblebees, monarch butterflies and countless other pollinators to the brink of mass extinction.  We cannot let … More Over 1 BILLION. That’s how many pounds of lethal pesticides we spray every year. More than 1 billion pounds of toxic chemicals that kill pollinators and endanger our food supply.

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.

New findings about the deformed wing virus, a major factor in honey bee colony mortality.

November 24, 2019

Tough life of Bees. In recent years, massive losses of honey bee colonies have occurred during winter in Europe and North America. It could be shown that the Varroa mite and the deformed wing virus are the main factors responsible for the alarming bee mortality. Researchers from the University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna have succeeded … More New findings about the deformed wing virus, a major factor in honey bee colony mortality.

Minnesota Will Pay Residents to Grow Bee Friendly Lawns

July 8, 2019

Leaving lawns untreated and allowing flowering plants to grow can help support the endangered rusty patched bumblebee The plump rusty patched bumblebee, Bombus affinis, once buzzed all across the eastern United States, the upper Midwest and parts of Canada. But today, the chunky critter is endangered, its population reduced by nearly 90 percent. In Minnesota, where the rusty patched … More Minnesota Will Pay Residents to Grow Bee Friendly Lawns

Picky eaters: Bumble bees prefer plants with nutrient-rich pollen

March 29, 2019

Bumble bees have discriminating palettes when it comes to their pollen meals, according to researchers at Penn State. The researchers found that bumble bees can detect the nutritional quality of pollen, and that this ability helps them selectively forage among plant species to optimize their diets. “Populations of many bee species are in decline across … More Picky eaters: Bumble bees prefer plants with nutrient-rich pollen

Honeybee populations are under attack but the founders of nonprofit HoneyLove believe bees’ best future is in cities. And Save the Bees supports well managed urban groups like HoneyLove.

January 12, 2019

By Daniel B. Wood West Los Angeles, Calif. — Butterflies and hummingbirds flit in the shafts of light behind Chelsea McFarland as she tells a group of about 20 interested volunteers – residents ages 6 to 66 from around this West Los Angeles suburb – what they can do to combat the dramatic worldwide depletion of the … More Honeybee populations are under attack but the founders of nonprofit HoneyLove believe bees’ best future is in cities. And Save the Bees supports well managed urban groups like HoneyLove.

Bumblebee pollinates sunflower

Sunflower pollen has medicinal, protective effects on bees

December 21, 2018

With bee populations in decline, a new study offers hope for a relatively simple mechanism to promote bee health and well-being: providing bees access to sunflowers. The study, conducted by researchers at North Carolina State University and the University of Massachusetts Amherst, showed that two different species of bees fed a diet of sunflower pollen … More Sunflower pollen has medicinal, protective effects on bees

Inbreeding and disease are factors in decline of yellow-banded bumblebee

November 29, 2018

Clues show that their immune genes are under selection, pointing to disease as a likely cause of yellow-banded bumblebee. By sequencing the genome of the yellow-banded bumblebee, York University researchers have found that inbreeding and disease are likely culprits in their rapid decline in North America. This is believed to be the first time the genome … More Inbreeding and disease are factors in decline of yellow-banded bumblebee

Neonics put bumblebees at risk of extinction by hindering colony formation, study reveals

November 8, 2018

Exposure to thiamethoxam reduces the chances of a bumblebee queen starting a new colony by more than a quarter. Bumblebees are less able to start colonies when exposed to a common neonicotinoid pesticide, according to a new University of Guelph study. Prof. Nigel Raine has discovered that exposure to thiamethoxam reduces the chances of a … More Neonics put bumblebees at risk of extinction by hindering colony formation, study reveals