Bees

Sacrificing a small patch of your garden may be enough to greatly improve the plight of bees at a time when pollinators are suffering huge declines. “A small wildflower patch or a mini meadow in your garden could have big benefits for biodiversity,” says Janine Griffiths-Lee, a PhD candidate in…

Photo: Thijs de Graaf (Shutterstock) Wasps have a public relations problem. Sure, there are probably plenty of people out there who aren’t big fans of bees—especially if they’ve had an allergic reaction to being stung by one—but ultimately, most would make their feelings known with the caveat that they realize…

Credit: CC0 Public Domain Common air pollutants from both urban and rural environments may be reducing the pollinating abilities of insects by preventing them from sniffing out the crops and wildflowers that depend on them, new research has shown. Scientists from the University of Reading, the UK Center for Ecology…

Caffeine is a widely occurring plant defense chemical that occurs in the nectar of some plants, e.g., coffee and citrus, where it may influence pollinator behavior to enhance pollination. New laboratory tests show that buff-tailed bumblebees (Bombus terrestris) locate new food sources emitting a learned floral odor more consistently if…

WASHINGTON, June 21, 2021 – Today, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack issued a United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) proclamation to recognize the designation of the week of June 21 – 27, 2021 as National Pollinator Week. Pollinator species, such as birds, bats, bees, and other insects, play an important role…

This past summer, my wife and I ventured to an area near Mount Adams in southwestern Washington state to census bumblebees. We camped there over the weekend as we took part in the Pacific Northwest Bumblebee Atlas survey. Scientists want to fill gaps in their knowledge about the bees. Learning…

A Hesperapis regularis bee visits a flower of Clarkia cylindrica at Pinnacles National Park. Credit: Tania Jogesh Study of flowers with two types of anthers solves mystery that baffled Darwin. Some flowers use a clever strategy to ensure effective pollination by bees, doling out pollen gradually from two different sets…

Most flowering plants depend on pollinators such as bees to transfer pollen from the male anthers of one flower to the female stigma of another flower, enabling fertilization and the production of fruits and seeds. Bee pollination, however, involves an inherent conflict of interest, because bees are only interested in…

The European honeybee has been in Australia for almost 200 years and its presence is often seen as benign, even beneficial. But that may not always be the case.Key points:Feral European bees may outcompete native bees for floral resourcesScientists do not fully understand the impacts and say more research is…

If anyone knows about going fungal, it’s Paul Stamets. I have often wondered whether he has been infected with a fungus that fills him with mycological zeal—and an irrepressible urge to persuade humans that fungi are keen to partner with us in new and peculiar ways. I went to visit…