December 2021

More support needed for pollination services in agriculture University of Göttingen Summary: The global decline of pollinators threatens the reproductive success of 90 per cent of all wild plants globally and the yield of 85 per cent of the world’s most important crops. Pollinators — mainly bees and other insects — contribute to 35 per cent of the world’s food…

  Plants and pollinators use electric fields to find each other By James Ashworth   Hoverflies have been shown to be able to sense the weak electric fields of plants. Pollinators and flowers attract can each other with electric fields to maximize the benefits for both, researchers have found. Some insects, such as hoverflies, are able to detect flowers using…

Editor: Kelly Sprute                                                                                      October 6, 2021 Making a Difference Honey bee on an almond flower, courtesy of Adobe Stock.…

  Flesh-Eating Bees Renounced Pollen for Rotting Meat A bizarre species of tropical bee has evolved to eat dead animals. By Isaac Schultz Vulture bees feed on raw chicken in Costa Rica.Photo: Quinn McFrederick/UCR Some bees have developed a taste for carrion, in a delightfully twisted evolutionary turn. These vulture bees, as they’re known, feature unique gut microbes that help them digest…

For December 2021, we are featuring three separate goodbye’s for our wonderful layout and design person, Kathy Summers as well as, one goodbye from Kathy herself. Kathy has been with us a long time and is retiring at the end of 2021. She will be missed by many as evidenced in this four part series of goodbye. Part 4 is…

  Common Sense Natural Beekeeping   Yes, you can keep bees sustainably with limited chemical or human intervention and the new book Common Sense Natural Beekeeping will help your hive and thrive with sustainable techniques. Today’s bees face unprecedented challenges. Chemical treatments for pests like the ubiquitous and deadly varroa mite have become standard even as resistance to such treatments grows and evidence…

  City trees are turning green early, prompting warnings for food and pollination MICHAEL LEVITT Premature greening in urban trees could have negative environmental and economic impacts, a new study has found. Cindy Ord/Getty Images If you live in a big city, you might see trees start budding even before spring officially arrives. A new article published in the journal Science found…