Bees

We love to hate wasps, but they pollinate flowers, kill off pests and their venom might even help us treat cancer Life 18 March 2020 By Richard Jones Many people equate “wasps” with these yellow-and-black insects, but there are over 100,000 specieslessy doang/getty imagesEVERYBODY loves bees. They are celebrated for…

by Sawyer Olmstead For beekeepers, the beginning of December marks the end of a very busy bee season. Beekeepers can finally breathe a sigh of relief and spend some well-deserved time off with their friends and family. Fall is a busy time for beekeepers, who spend their time harvesting and…

With the urban concrete jungle pushing insects out and forcing bees to travel farther and farther between green areas, we are facing decreasing insect- and, most alarmingly, bee-populations. But these projects have made a home for insects in urban areas to help get the city buzzing with insect life. Refugio…

A bumblebee on a leaf leaves a trail of cucurbit pollen behind her as she tries to remove it. Credit: Kristen Brochu, Cornell University When it comes to feeding on pollen, honeybees and bumblebees are generalists. They like a buffet of choices—except when it comes to pollen from flowers of…

Pesticide contamination in bee hives damages the learning capabilities of offspring, according to a recently published study.A key area of the affected bees' brains never correctly develops after pesticide exposure.Early impairment appears to be irreversible and is likely a factor in falling bee populations. According to the U.S Department of…

Loading metrics Open Access Peer-reviewed Research Article Andreas Duffner,  Thomas Moser,  Marco P. Candolfi x Published: March 10, 2020 https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0230155 AbstractAgriculture is the dominating land-use in the EU member states covering nearly half of the surface area. Using herbicides to reduce weed competition in agricultural areas can adversely affect Non-Target…

Loading metrics Open Access Peer-reviewed Research Article Logan R. Appenfeller,  Sarah Lloyd,  Zsofia Szendrei x Published: March 10, 2020 https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0230007 AbstractNative bees provide essential pollination services in both natural and managed ecosystems. However, declines in native bee species highlight the need for increased understanding of land management methods that can…

Written by TR Shankar Raman | Updated: March 9, 2020 2:01:45 pm The Red Carpet: A red silk cotton tree towers over the canopy in the Western Ghats. (Courtesy: Divya Mudappa)The scarlet dome erupts over the rainforest canopy. On this cool, clear January morning in the mountains, the tree emerges…

Monty revisits one of his classic books, Gardening at Longmeadow, in the first of an occasional series. The sweet violet, Viola odorata, is one of the most quietly modest and yet beautiful of all flowers. Although perfectly suited to any garden and wonderful in pots on a windowsill or balcony, they are…

Chris Hiatt knows he's had a good summer for honey when he can barely close his hands by the end of the season. At Hiatt Honey, his family's business, he regularly moves around hive boxes that weigh up to 70 pounds. "It is hard work, man," Hiatt, also the vice…