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

Report warns of catastrophic consequences and blames manufacturers for ‘systematic denial of harms’ and ‘unethical marketing tactics’ The idea that pesticides are essential to feed a fast-growing global population is a myth, according to UN food and pollution experts. A new report being presented to the UN human rights council on Wednesday, is severely critical … More UN experts denounce ‘myth’ pesticides are necessary to feed the world

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

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

After bumblebees drink a small droplet of really sweet sugar water, they behave like they are in a positive emotion-like state, scientists have discovered.  Photo of a bee drinking a droplet of sugar water. Credit: Clint J Perry Biologists at Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) have discovered that after bumblebees drink a small droplet … More Good food puts bees in good mood