Interesting article from Matthew Appleby about research sponsored by a leading pesticide manufacturer.
Two specific enzymes, one in the honeybee and one in the bumblebee, may help find a new generation of insecticides that protect crops without threatening the pollinators.
Bee pollen is believed to possess many health boosting properties
Honeybee larvae develop into queen bees only when they are fed large quantities of a food known as royal jelly. But royal jelly does more than determine whether a larva becomes a queen: it also keeps her safely anchored to the roof of the structure, called a queen cell, in which she develops. Research published in Current Biology explains the role that the pH of royal jelly plays in making the substance viscous enough to keep the queen-to-be from falling.
Modern monoculture farming, commercial forestry and even well-intentioned gardeners could be making it harder for honeybees to store food and fight off diseases, a new study suggests.
Report by Bob Yirka, Phys.org
By Kashmira Gander, Newsweek
A commonly used weed killer could be wiping out bee populations around the world, scientists have warned.