Massive declines in insect biodiversity and biomass are reported from many regions and habitats. In urban areas, creation of native wildflower meadows is one option to support insects and reduce maintenance costs of urban green spaces. However, benefits for insect conservation may depend on previous land use, and the size …
nsect pollinator abundance, in particular that of bees, has been shown to be high where there is a super-abundance of floral resources; for example in association with mass-flowering crops and also in gardens where flowering plants are often densely planted. Since land management affects pollinator numbers, it is also likely …
Tip for farmers: caterpillars fear the sound of bee wings JURGEN tautz has a passion for delving into the daily lives of bees. He has figured out much of the complex mechanism behind the waggle dance which honeybees use to beckon other bees to a food source. Now this scientist, …
health sciences Hooked, genetically Researchers of the University of Michigan, usa, have cracked the genetic secrets of nicotine addiction. Whether or not one gets hooked to smoking is dependent on a particular variant of a gene
Scent-bearing hydrocarbon molecules released by flowers can be destroyed when they come into contact with ozone and other pollutants. This phenomenon triggers a cycle in which the pollinators have trouble finding sufficient food, and as a result their populations decline. Air pollution interferes with the ability of bees and other …
scientists at Montana University, usa, have developed an alarm system to monitor the bee buzz to track airborne toxins and contaminants. Bees make sounds at different frequencies depending on the environment, says Jerry Bromenshenk, the lead researcher. For example, a parasite-infested beehive produces a sound akin to a roar, and …
albert einstein is said to have said: "If the honeybee becomes extinct, mankind will follow within four years.' The physicist wasn't entirely off the mark
British beekeepers have been confronted by a mysterious disease that has already affected the us and many European countries. Known as colony collapse disorder (ccd), it is possibly the most serious disease faced by bees. According to the uk's National Bee Unit, a branch of the Department for Environment, Food …
queen bees, the reproductive females in a colony of bees, are considered promiscuous. But nature has made them so, because it helps boost disease resistance of the colony by increasing the genetic diversity of the offsprings the bees produce. Scientists have proved that by indulging in sexual relationships with multiple …
the latest buzz: Researchers at Oregon State University have discovered the oldest bee ever known, a 100-million-year-old specimen preserved in almost lifelike form in amber, and an important link to help explain the rapid expansion of flowering plants during that period. The specimen, at least 35-45 million years older than …
when domesticated honeybees interact with wild native bees, they are up to five times more efficient in pollinating sunflowers than when native bees are not present, claims a study by a pair of researchers at the University of California (uc, Berkeley, and uc Davis. "Until now, we've thought that honeybees …
the diversity of bees and the flowers they pollinate has sharply declined in the uk and the Netherlands since 1980, says a study jointly conducted by scientists from the two countries. The researchers compiled about 1 million records (pre- and post-1980) for all native bee species, except the largely domesticated …
To humans, all honeybees may look alike. But not all humans appear the same to bees. A study has found that the insects can learn to recognise human faces from photographs, and remember them for at least two days. The finding puts a question mark on the belief that facial …
thevisual system of bees is more sophisticated than believed, claims a study conducted at the University College London (ucl) that showed the insects solved complicated colour puzzles. The study sheds light on how brain resolves one of the most difficult challenges of vision: recognising different surfaces under different colours of …
pesticide levels thought safe for pollinators may prove harmful for the wild bee, says a Canadian study. It shows adult bumblebees exposed to significant levels of the pesticide spinosad during larval development have impaired foraging (food collecting) ability. In developed countries, about one third of human food depends on pollinating …
the advocates of transgenic crops recently received a big blow from the findings of the largest ever study into the ecological impact of these crops, published recently in Proceedings of the Royal Society B:Biological Sciences . The three-year study commissioned by the uk government suggests that some genetically modified crops …
extensive use of Gaucho, a pesticide containing the active substance imidacloprid, has killed hundreds of thousands of bees in France, as per a report. "The results are alarming. The treatment of crops by Gaucho poses risk to bees in several stages of life,' concludes the 108-page report, compiled on behalf …
