Intelligent behavior emerging from a group of relatively unintelligent organisms.
David Attenborough urges people to save bees with an adorable teaspoon gesture
It’s a small gesture, but it can make a big difference for the tiny bees.
Walmart silently filed a patent for robotic bees meant to pollinate crops
As bee populations dwindle, robots are made to take their place.
It’s official: pesticides are harming the bees
Perhaps it’s time to consider a full-scale ban.
Climate change might cause a coffee crisis, but there’s still hope
Is it really that bad?
Popular pesticides are killing of bumblebees by preventing them from laying eggs
It’s time to face it: our pesticides are killing off bees — and bumblebees.
Bees prefer rural flowers to urban ones, new study indicates
Bees are more of the rural type, it seems.
Football-playing bees exhibit complex learning
Researchers have trained bumblebees to score goals using a mini-ball.
Bumblebee becomes the first endangered bee in continental US
For the first time in history, a bee in continental US has been listed as endangered.
Scientists find a new way through which neonicotinoids are killing off bees
Bee populations are going down dramatically, and our insecticides are largely at blame.
Flying quarter-sized RoboBee perches to save energy
Harvard roboticists made an insect-like flying robot that perches on ceilings to save energy, like bats, birds or butterflies.
Bees get much needed win as US court rules against neonicotinoid pesticide
Bee numbers have been dropping at alarming rates, and the growing consensus seem to be that only limiting pesticide use (especially for some pesticides) can save them. Now, a US court overturned federal approval for a new formulation called sulfoxaflor, basically banning the pesticide.
Bees use natural vaccines for their youth
When it comes to vaccines, the young bees don’t really have a choice – they’re naturally immunized against specific diseases commonly found in their environment. For the first time, researchers have figured out just how they do it.
Pollinating Bees are Worth Billions, and We’re Still Not Protecting Them
Wild bees provide environmental services worth $3,250 (€2,880) per hectare per year – accounting for billions, globally. Writing in Nature Communications, study authors quantify how much bees are doing for us, and stress that despite all their immense value, we still don’t have a concrete plan to stop their numbers from dwindling.
Watch: The first 21 days of a bee’s life in stunning timelapse
As part of a recent TED Talk (presented at the bottom of this article) photographer Anand Varma captured the incredible 21 day transformation from bee egg to larvae to pupae to adult, all in a breathtaking one-minute time-lapse video: In order to construct this time-lapse, Varma raised bees in his backyard, in front of a camera. His effort is part
Pesticide limit may be the last resort to save the bees, White House says
With bee numbers dropping dramatically in the last years, it’s time to take some drastic measures, and a White House task force including participation from more than a dozen federal agencies has concluded that limiting pesticide use may be the last resort we have to maintain bee numbers.
Bee numbers dropping at incredible rates
Something is killing off the bees; it’s likely us, and we’ll all have to pay the price. In fact, in many areas of the world, we already are.
Bees have false memories too – this might help explain how our own form
Memories aren’t infallible – even for those with photographic memory – so, more often than not, they’ll seem fuzzy. And the older these get, the fuzzier they’re recalled. Mixing names, faces and events in your head can sometimes be embarrassing, but at least we’re not alone. Seems like bees have false memories too, according to a study made by British researchers at Queen Mary University of London. Previously, false memories had been induced in other animals, like mice, but this is the first time natural false memories have been shown to happen. Research like this might help us, in time, understand how false memories are formed and, in a more general sense, how we recall events.
Watch: The Inside of a Huge Wasp Colony
Some wasps decided to build their colony next to the window of Youtube user Vang Tsal. Naturally, he was spooked – wasps are mean, and can be quite difficult to deal with. But instead of panicking and attempting to destroy the hive, he filmed it – and the results are spectacular: The colony now offers a perfect perspective of wasp
Pesticides threaten bees, birds and worms alike
A new study has shown that neurotoxic pesticides blamed for the huge drop in bee numbers are also equally affecting butterflies, worms, fish and birds. Killing the Bees Analyzing two decades of research on the topic, they found out that two classes of pesticides – neonicotinoids and fipronil – show “clear evidence of harm”. “We are witnessing a threat to the productivity