All posts tagged: bees

Plants laced with a variety of fungi are more popular with bees

Plants laced with a variety of fungi are more popular with bees

Published by skeptic

A bee pollinating a squash flower Roman Kýbus/Alamy Plants treated with diverse species of fungi that live on roots grew larger flowers, prompting bees to visit them more often and spend more time there. “[These fungi] might not only have benefits for the plant itself, or for the soil, but also for the pollinators,” says Aidee Guzman at Stanford University in California. Guzman and her colleagues grew squash plants (Cucurbita pepo) inoculated with four combinations of different species of mycorrhizal fungi. These fungi live on… Source link

A Darwinian Biologist Winces at Bees That Have Feelings

A Darwinian Biologist Winces at Bees That Have Feelings

Published by skeptic

At his blog, Darwinian evolutionary biologist Jerry Coyne gives the question some thought. Lars Chittka, Queen Mary University sensory ecologist and author of The Mind of a Bee (Princeton University Press, 2022), argues that bees “feel and think” — a point he developed last year at Scientific American. Chittka offers, The conventional wisdom about insects has been that they are automatons—unthinking, unfeeling creatures whose behavior is entirely hardwired. But in the 1990s researchers began making startling discoveries about insect minds. It’s not just the bees. Some species of wasps recognize their nest mates’ faces and acquire impressive social skills. For example, they can infer the fighting strengths of other wasps relative to their own just by watching other wasps fight among themselves. Ants rescue nest mates buried under rubble, digging away only over trapped (and thus invisible) body parts, inferring the body dimension from those parts that are visible above the surface. Flies immersed in virtual reality display attention and awareness of the passing of time. Locusts can visually estimate rung distances when walking on …

‘Fraught with danger’: wild honey gathering in Nepal – in pictures | Art and design

‘Fraught with danger’: wild honey gathering in Nepal – in pictures | Art and design

Published by skeptic

For generations the Gurung community in Taap, about 175km (110 miles) west of the capital, Kathmandu, and other villages in the districts of Lamjung and Kaski, have scoured the steep Himalayan cliffs for honey. The villagers say the proceeds, split among them, are drying up as the number of hives has declined over the past decade, although some also earn a living from growing crops of rice, corn, millet and wheat Source link

The Truth About the Bees

The Truth About the Bees

Published by skeptic

Everyone, for so long, has been worried about the honeybees. Governments, celebrities, social-media users, small businesses, multinational conglomerates—in the two decades or so since news emerged that American honeybees were disappearing, all manner of entities with a platform or a wallet have taken up and abandoned countless other causes, but they can’t quit trying to save the bees. In 2022, at least 18 states enacted bee-related legislation. Last year, a cryptocurrency launched with the intention of raising “awareness and support for bee conservation.” If you search Etsy right now for “save the bees,” you’ll be rewarded with thousands of things to buy. Bees and Thank You, a food truck in suburban Boston, funds bee sanctuaries and gives out a packet of wildflower seeds—good for the bees!—with every grilled cheese sandwich it sells. A company in the United Kingdom offers a key ring containing a little bottle of chemicals that can purportedly “revive” an “exhausted bee” should you encounter one, “so it can continue its mission pollinating planet Earth.” All of the above is surprising for …

Bumblebee nests are overheating to fatal levels, study finds | Bees

Bumblebee nests are overheating to fatal levels, study finds | Bees

Published by skeptic

Bumblebee nests may be overheating, killing off broods and placing one of the Earth’s critical pollinators in decline as temperatures rise, new research has found. Around the world, many species of Bombus, or bumblebee, have suffered population declines due to global heating, the research said. Bumblebee colonies are known for their ability to thermoregulate: in hot conditions, worker bees gather to beat their wings and fan the hive, cooling it down. But as the climate crisis pushes average temperatures up and generates heatwaves, bumblebees will struggle to keep their homes habitable. Most bumblebee broods would not survive at temperatures above 36C, the paper, published in Frontiers in Bee Science, concluded. The research team reviewed 180 years of literature, and found that for all bumblebee species studied the optimum temperature range for incubating nests was between 28C and 32C. Peter Kevan, the lead author of the study, told the Guardian: “If [bumblebees] can’t keep temperatures below what is probably a lethal limit of about 35C, when the brood may die, that could explain why we are …

Incredible close-up photos of bees go on display in Liverpool | Science & Tech News

Incredible close-up photos of bees go on display in Liverpool | Science & Tech News

Published by Sam

These are bees as you’ve never seen them before. There are more than 20,000 known species of bee and they are vital to life on Earth, as they help keep plants thriving. Image: A northern white-tailed bumblebee. Pic: Pete Carr A new immersive exhibition in Liverpool explores their lives, and the threats they now face. Image: A female violet carpenter bee. Pic: Pete Carr A collaboration between artist Wolfgang Buttress and World Museum, Liverpool, it uses close-up photography, sound, sculpture and light to show the impact the modern world is having on bees. “Bees can be seen as sentinels of the earth,” said Buttress. “Their health and wellbeing mirror the health of the Earth and they are dying in unprecedented numbers. “Their existential challenges reflect our own – they die and suffer, we die and suffer.” Bees are threatened by a number of factors including the use of pesticides, their loss of habitat, and intensive farming, according to Friends of the Earth. Image: An African carpenter bee. Pic: Pete Carr “We want to shine a …

Rising temperatures are cooking bumblebee nests and killing larvae

Rising temperatures are cooking bumblebee nests and killing larvae

Published by skeptic

Species like the buff-tailed bumblebee are feeling the heat FLPA/Alamy Rising global temperatures may be making bumblebee nests too hot for them to survive. The global bumblebee population has declined since the 1950s, sparking speculation on the causes – researchers have suggested everything from pesticides to habitat loss. Because bumblebees are vulnerable to temperature swings, some have proposed another culprit: climate change. Researchers from the University of Guelph in Canada reviewed studies dating back to the 1800s and found that, regardless of species or region, bumblebees prefer a nest temperature between around 28 and 32°C (82-90°F). When nest temperatures surpassed 36°C (97°F), the bees couldn’t continue reproducing, adding new evidence to the idea that increased heat could be partly to blame. Because the larvae – young bees that resemble worms – are more sensitive to heat than adults, one brutal heatwave could kill a nest’s next generation. “It’s remarkable that all the way from the high Arctic to the tropics, bumblebees seem to have the same sort of nest temperature requirements,” says Peter Kevan at …

These stunning close-up photos offer a window onto the world of bees

These stunning close-up photos offer a window onto the world of bees

Published by skeptic

Euglossa, also known as orchid bees”/> A bee from the genus Euglossa, also known as orchid bees Pete Carr Photography FEW insects (or even animals) hold quite as much sway on the planet as bees. As pollinators that flock from flower to flower, crop to crop, they keep the world’s flora and biodiversity thriving. And yet, thanks to a myriad of deadly factors, such as pesticides, habitat destruction and climate change, thousands of species are teetering on the brink. A violet carpenter bee (Xylocopa violacea) Pete Carr/National Museums Liverpool A new exhibition all about these vital creatures, Bees: A story of survival, provides an immersive window on their world, from the intricate anatomy of a single bee to the structure of entire colonies. In collaboration with artist Wolfgang Buttress, it uses sound, sculpture and light, blending art and technology to show visitors the lives of bees around the world, illuminating just how devastating it would be to lose them. A bee from the genus Nomioides Pete Carr/National Museums Liverpool The main image is of a bee from …