Why Smoking Soothes the Stressed-Out Bee Hive
A new study that explores the effect of smoke on honey bee (Apis mellifera) behavior finds that it reduces the instance of bees releasing a venom droplet in their signaling of danger to other bees, which researchers speculate may thereby reduce the amount of alarm pheromone released.
Funny Honey at the Zoo Reveals Bees’ Foraging on Sugar Baits
In the course of a study on mosquito movement, researchers discovered that local colonies of honey bees had foraged on a nontoxic sugar bait meant for the mosquitoes. The bait was dyed red to track mosquitoes that fed on it, but the dye also showed up in much of the bees' honey.
More Research Needed to Better Balance Honey Bees and Native Bees
A review of existing research on floral resource competition between managed honey bees and wild bees shows gaps in our knowledge about such interactions and calls for further research to better inform decisions on honey bee management and pollinator protection.
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.
A Potential New Tool in the Battle Against a Bee-Killing Bacteria
American foulbrood disease is caused by a difficult-to-control and highly destructive bacterium. New research may have found a way to prevent infections of honey bees
Insect Astronauts: Eclipse Watchers Learn About Entomology in Orbit
Insects studied in experiments in outer space were featured at an entomology booth at an Eclipse Watching Event hosted by the Department of Entomology at a University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
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: […]
How the Varroa Mite Co-Opts Honey Bee Behaviors to Its Own Advantage
As the managed honey bee industry continues to grapple with significant annual colony losses, the Varroa destructor mite is emerging as the leading culprit. And, it turns out, the very […]
Get to Know Tropilaelaps Mites, Another Serious Parasite of Honey Bees
By Josh Lancette The plight of honey bees is well documented, as is the cause of much of their grief: parasitic mites. Varroa destructor gets the largest amount of attention […]
Mite-Resistant Russian Honey Bees Might Not Prevent Varroa Infestations
By Meredith Swett Walker Imagine a parasite about the size of a grapefruit, and it’s latched onto your back where you just can’t reach it. Now imagine that parasite is […]
Why Human Behavior is Hurting Honey Bees
In the search for answers to the complex health problems and colony losses experienced by honey bees in recent years, it may be time for professionals and hobbyists in the […]
A Neuroscientist’s Approach to Entomology
By Constance Lin Varroa mites, pathogens, or climate change? What exactly causes the honey bee Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD)? Honey bees (Apis mellifera) offer us critical pollination services. In the […]
Study Finds Bees Can Have Their Wildflowers and Almonds, Too
By Josh Lancette New research published this week in the journal Environmental Entomology shows that planting wildflowers next to almond orchards does not cause fewer honey bees to visit the […]
Commonly Used Fungicides Linked to Increased Mortality in Honey Bees
Fungicides commonly used in almond orchards can be harmful to almond growers’ primary pollinator: honey bees. According to new lab research published this week in the Journal of Economic Entomology, […]
How Do Pesticides Affect Wild Japanese Honey Bees?
By Josh Lancette In a recent Reddit AMA, honey bee experts May Berenbaum, Ph.D., and Gene Robinson, Ph.D., listed four P’s that drive problems with honey bees: pathogens, pesticides, parasites, […]
Highlights From Reddit Science’s Honey Bee AMA
Last week, the Reddit Science community welcomed University of Illinois entomologists May Berenbaum, Ph.D., immediate past president of the Entomological Society of America, and Gene Robinson, Ph.D., an ESA Fellow, […]