Tag: bees

Dance of the honey bee reveals fondness for strawberries.

August 1, 2020

Bees are pollinators of many wild and crop plants, but in many places their diversity and density is declining. A research team from the Universities of Göttingen, Sussex and Würzburg has now investigated the foraging behaviour of bees in agricultural landscapes. To do this, the scientists analysed the bees’ dances, which are called the “waggle dance.” They found out that honey … More Dance of the honey bee reveals fondness for strawberries.

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.

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.

July 24, 2019

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.

Pesticide exposure causes bumblebee flight to fall short

July 11, 2019

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

With flower preferences, bees have a big gap between the sexes

June 30, 2019

Scores of wild bee species, females and males, visit very different flowers for food — a discovery that could be important for conservation efforts, according to Rutgers-led research. Indeed, the diets of female and male bees of the same species could be as different as the diets of different bee species, according to a study … More With flower preferences, bees have a big gap between the sexes

Microscopy research helps unravel the workings of a major honey bee pest

June 21, 2019

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 … More Microscopy research helps unravel the workings of a major honey bee pest

Massive Loss Of Thousands Of Hives Afflicts Orchard Growers And Beekeepers

June 11, 2019

Almond bloom comes nearly all at once in California — a flush of delicate pale blooms that unfold around Valentine’s Day. And beekeeper Bret Adee is hustling to get his hives ready, working through them on a Central Valley ranch before placing them in orchards. He deftly tap-taps open a hive. “We’re gonna open this … More Massive Loss Of Thousands Of Hives Afflicts Orchard Growers And Beekeepers

On Monsanto

June 4, 2019

Marc Steiner: The world’s biggest chemical company is not only responsible for killing off our bees, its killing off people, as well, and the predatory, profit-driven organization is using rogue science to try and hoodwink the public into agreeing with them. The giant biotech agribusiness chemical company , recently merged with Bayer, is, of course, Monsanto, … More On Monsanto