Honey Bee Heat Warms Up Fellow Pollinators for Early-Season Blooms
An incubator that draws excess heat from a honey bee hive warms up managed Osmia lignaria bees so they can pollinate early-blooming fruit trees such as cherry, apple, and almond. A new study shows the hivetop incubators are effective, with little effect on the honey bee hive temps below.
Do Pollinators Prefer Dense Flower Patches? Sometimes Yes, Sometimes No
A study looking at floral density and pollinators finds that some types of pollinating insects prefer dense flower patches more than others, but that preference can also vary by flower species, too. The complicated findings offer clues to how multiple pollinator species co-exist and compete for floral resources.
From Trash to Treasure: How Bee Bycatch Can Advance Ecological Research, Collaborations
In many agricultural settings, insect pest traps can also attract bees. In a new report, a group of researchers examine ways to reduce bee bycatch in pest traps while also exploring how bee bycatch can aid in assessing bee biodiversity, population levels, range shifts, and more.
Alfalfa Leafcutting Bees Like Nests That Face North, Study Shows
An experiment with four-sided nest boxes for alfalfa leafcutting bees showed small variations in environmental conditions from one nest-cavity location to another make a big difference in the bees' nesting preferences and number of offspring.