Ihave been fascinated by insects all my life. One of my earliest memories is of finding, at the age of five or six, some stripy yellow-and-black caterpillars feeding on weeds in the school playground. I put them in my empty lunchbox, and took them home. Eventually they transformed into handsome magenta and black moths. This […]
Tag: bees
Did You Know Flowers Can Hear Bees Buzzing?
A scientist is researching to prove that plants can hear their surroundings. Preliminary evidence of research by Lilach Hadany found that flowers respond to the sound of bees wings by increasing sugar quantity in nectar. Hadany, who teaches at the cross of mathematics and biology at the University of Tel Aviv, reasons that since pollinators […]
Petition: Protect Bees in the US
Made up of almost 20,000 distinct species, the global bee population plays a huge role in supporting the reproduction of most flowering plants and crops. They are vital to our planet and those who live in on it. Sadly, their populations have been declining at astonishing rates. Researchers estimate that as many as 25% of […]
A taste of honey: how bees mend fences between farmers and elephants
Watchtowers in trees, tripwire alarms, radio collars, chilli smoke and beehive fences: scientists and conservationists across Asia and Africa are coming up with safe and humane ways to keep elephants at bay and reduce conflict with humans. In early June, the agonising death of a pregnant wild elephant that ate an explosives-filled pineapple in India […]
Petition: Tell the EU to Ban Neonicotinoids, Pesticides that Kill Bees
Bees are extremely important to most lifeforms on Earth, as they are responsible for most of the pollination of our crops. Unfortunately, bees populations are decreasing at an alarming rate. In the United States alone, the number of bee colonies per hectare has gone down by ninety percent since 1962. Humans are almost entirely responsible, […]
Breaking News: Alarm over deaths of bees from rapidly spreading viral disease
A viral disease that causes honey bees to suffer severe trembling, flightlessness and death within a week is spreading exponentially in Britain. Chronic bee paralysis virus (CBPV) was only recorded in Lincolnshire in 2007. A decade later, it was found in 39 of 47 English counties and six of eight Welsh counties, according to data […]
500 Million Bees Found Dead in Brazil
Beekeepers in Brazil have reported the loss of 500 million bees from hives in 3 months. Bees have been dropping dead and evidence links pesticides to the cause. Regulations across Brazil have been reformed, leading to forest fires and now, increased pesticide use. Reporting from Mongabay said 290 pesticides have been cleared for use in […]
Petition: Ban Use of Pesticides Killing Bees in Texas!
Over 70 percent of the world’s crop species that feed humans are pollinated by bees. Simply put, we needbees. If anyone isn’t interested in the conservation of species just because they deserve to live, then maybe they care that it will affect humans badly if bees were to go extinct. Yet, bee populations are rapidly […]