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Pesticides making bumblebees lose their buzz, says new report

Pesticides are causing bees to lose their buzz which vibrates the flower and shakes out the pollen, according to a new study. Stirling University researchers have said bees exposed to neonicotinoids fail to learn how to buzz properly and in turn they fail to release the pollen from some flowers, such as those of crops like tomatoes and potatoes. A study this year found a link between oilseed rape…

The waggle dance” is a movement performed by a honeybee at the hive or nest, to indicate to other bees the direction and distance of a source of food. This little video breaks it down. How can honeybees communicate the locations of new food sources? Austrian biologist, Karl Von Frisch, devised an experiment to find out! By pairing the direction of the sun with the flow of gravity, honeybees are…

UN report calls for global action to restore pollinators

A United Nations report on pollinator decline blame loss of habitat, climate change and farming changes, and calls for a range of measures including “bee highways” and tougher controls on new pesticides. Prepared by an international team of experts including from the Universities of Reading and East Anglia and the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, it calls for “bee highways”, reducing so-called…

An artist is painting 50,000 honey bees in magnificent murals all over the world

An American artist has undertaken an ambitious project to paint thousands of honeybees in a selection of murals at different destinations all around the world. The Good of The Hive is an artistic initiative set up by mural painter Matthew Willey, with the goal of helping to raise awareness about the importance of honeybees to the environment. The project sees him aiming to personally paint murals…

Asian Hornet Nest Found

Asian hornet nest found and destroyed

An Asian hornet nest (image 1) has been located and destroyed by experts in the Tetbury area. The nest (image 2) was found at the top of a 55 foot tall conifer tree (image 3). Inspectors from the National Bee Unit are continuing to monitor the area for Asian hornets alongside local beekeepers. However to date, no live hornets have been seen since the nest was…

Whoa! I feel nice, like sugar and spice… Bumblebees may experience something like happiness after getting a treat that makes them appear more optimistic.

We normally think of an emotion as the internal awareness of a feeling, but there’s more to it than that, says Clint Perry at Queen Mary University of London. Physical changes to your body and shifts in your behaviour accompany sensations of…

Following the finding of Asian hornets in Gloucestershire last week we have received a large number of suspect Asian hornet reports from members of the public and beekeepers which we are following up. Bee inspectors have now visited over 100 sites. Asian hornets have been seen at just six locations within 500 meters of the original site.

Efforts to track down the nest and destroy it are ongoing.…

Following the finding of Asian hornets in Gloucestershire last week we have received a large number of suspect Asian hornet reports from members of the public and beekeepers which we are following up. Bee inspectors have now visited over 100 sites. Asian hornets have been seen at just six locations within 500 meters of the original site. Efforts to track down the nest and destroy it are ongoing.…

Do you know how honey is produced by the bees

If you don’t know how do bees produce honey until now after reading of this text you will know very well the whole process… The western, or European honeybee, pollinates three fourths of the fruits, veggies and nuts that we eat. We’d be in trouble without them. Of course, there’s a reason we don’t call them zucchini bees, almond bees, or apple bees. They also give us honey. One healthy hive will…

Do you know how honey is produced by the bees

If you don’t know how do bees produce honey until now after reading of this text you will know very well the whole process…

The western, or European honeybee, pollinates three fourths of the fruits, veggies and nuts that we eat. We’d be in trouble without them. Of course, there’s a reason we don’t call them zucchini bees, almond bees, or apple bees. They also give us honey. One healthy hive will…

They’re here! Long-feared UK arrival of honeybee-killing Asian hornet confirmed

The first sighting of an invasive Asian hornet to the UK mainland has been confirmed, with experts warning of dire consequences for honeybees if the new species is not swiftly eradicated. The hornet, Vespa velutina, has been found in the Tetbury area of Gloucestershire. Specialist hornet-killing squads armed with infrared cameras and specialist pesticides are now out in force to find and destroy…

CALLINGTON was a hive of activity recently, when men in beekeepers’ suits visited the local Tesco store and got away with two large tubs of white sugar without having paid for them, while the store manager watched, smiling.

The beekeepers — members of the Cornish bee preservation group, the Bee Improvement Programme for Cornwall (BIPCo) — are part of a pilot project to collect leftover white…

First sighting of invasive hornet which kills honey bees confirmed

The first sighting of an invasive hornet which kills honey bees has been confirmed in Britain by Government experts.

The first sighting of an invasive hornet which kills honey bees has been confirmed in Britain by Government experts.

An Asian hornet (Vespa velutina) has been found in the Tetbury area of Gloucestershire, where work is now under way to find and destroy any nests belonging to the…

Bees don’t slack on the job, even when they are ill

Scientists think the insects are ‘hardwired’ to search, no matter how they feel. Struggle to get into work when you feel under the weather? You should take inspiration from the hard-working honeybee and spring out of bed. New research has shown that honeybees remain excellent searchers even when they are ill. The bees are hardwired to search the landscape efficiently, allowing them to continue…

Bees don’t slack on the job, even when they are ill

Scientists think the insects are ‘hardwired’ to search, no matter how they feel.

Scientists in Cornwall used radar technology to track individual bees and were able to show they remained nimble and travelled hundreds or thousands of metres even when they had infections or viruses.

Honeybees tirelessly commute between rewarding flower patches and their hive and their remarkable navigational…

National initiative ‘Bee Friendly’ created to encourage people to help pollinators

A national initiative, believed to be the first in the world aimed at encouraging people to help pollinators, including bees and butterflies, will be launched today.

Friends of the Earth has joined Wales’ Cabinet Secretary for Environment and Rural Affairs, Lesley Griffiths, in welcoming ‘Bee Friendly’.

The brand new scheme will seek to help all pollinators by creating a nation of…

Government under fire for failure to ban bee-harming pesticides

The Scottish Government has come under attack for failing to ban pesticides after a major scientific study concluded that they were harming bees.

Scientists from the publicly-funded Centre for Ecology and Hydrology found strong evidence linking the use of nicotine-based pesticides with “large-scale and long-term” declines in wild bees.

But when asked for the government’s response to the study…