New and Easy Marking Method Tracks Bees Without Killing Them
A new study published in the Journal of Insect Science outlines a new technique that quickly, simply, and inexpensively marks bees to track their movement—and it's non-lethal, too. It could make for an valuable improvement for mark-and-recapture methods for these pollinators.
Beyond the Honey Bee: How Pesticides Affect Solitary, Cavity-Nesting Bees
Solitary bees face different—and less well-understood—challenges from pesticide exposure than their colony-dwelling honey bee cousins. A pair of entomologists encourage colleagues to dedicate more research to these important pollinators.
The Microscopic Spines That Many Bee Species Use to Hatch
Perhaps you’ve seen the 2015 video from photographer Anand Varma (and shared again last week via National Geographic), a time-lapse of bee larvae hatching and growing in their cells: Watch: […]
Walking Among Giants in Northwest Thailand
This post is the first in the “Travel Bug” series by Laura Kraft, a recent graduate from the University of Georgia, who will be chronicling her travels in Asia from […]
New Bee Species Bores into Sandstone
When Michael Orr, a graduate student at Utah State University, observed what appeared to be bee nests in sandstone at the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Park in Utah, he decided to […]
Study Shows Leaf Fertilizers to Be Toxic to Stingless Bees
By Andrew Porterfield There’s been a lot of focus and scientific study on the population reductions of honey bees and other pollinators. Some possible causes that have been cited are: […]
Radio Tagging Bumble Bees to Figure Out What the Buzz Is All About
By Jeremy Hemberger Bees are on a lot of folk’s minds these days, and for good reason. They provide pollination services to over 70% of the crops worldwide, helping to […]
An Opportunity to Study Bees and Pollination in Costa Rica
By Gerrit van de Klashorst The importance of bees and other pollinators for natural and agricultural ecosystems has been well documented. But during the past decades, pollinators have been in […]
Kiley Friedrich Talks About Plant Diversity and Bee Communities
In this video, which was made by entomology graduate students Jeremy Hemberger and Michael Falk during Entomology 2015 in Minneapolis, Kiley Friedrich (University of Wisconsin-Madison) talks about her poster on […]
Four New Bee Species Discovered in Australia
Four new native bee species have been recognized as part of the largest Australian nature discovery project, called “Bush Blitz.” The South Australian bee specialists used molecular and morphological evidence […]
Study Finds Very Few Wild Bee Species Pollinate Major Crops
A major international study finds that surprisingly few bee species are responsible for pollinating the world’s crops. The paper, published in Nature Communications, suggests that only two percent of wild […]
Entomovectoring Uses Bees to Fight Fungus with Fungus
A disease called brown rot, which is caused by a fungus, costs the Australian cherry industry $150 million per year. To combat the disease, University of Adelaide researchers are trying […]
Eavesdropping Bees Encouraged by “Whispers,” Deterred by “Shouts”
If you’re a bee and you’ve spotted a new and particularly lucrative source of nectar and pollen, what’s the best way to communicate the location of this food to your […]
Competition among Fungi and Bacteria in the Guts of Bees
A clearer picture is emerging of microorganisms that colonize the guts of some bee species, thanks to studies by a team of scientists with the USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS) […]
Using Bees to Protect Elephants and Farmers
According to the World Wildlife Fund, there were as many as 3-5 million African elephants in the 1930s and 1940s. However, due to loss of habitat and poachers seeking ivory […]
Neonicotinoids Barely Found in Pollen of Seed-treated Plants
By Richard Levine Neonicotinoids (or neonics for short) are a class of pesticide that has been popular with corn, cotton, canola, and soybean farmers for years. Instead of spraying pesticides […]