IE 11 is not supported. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. Skip to Content news Alerts There are no new alerts at this time 00:17 Truck carrying 1 million bees crashes in Tennessee 00:0000:00 Source link
A warm spring can look harmless, even welcome. For a bee or wasp sealed inside a cocoon, it can be costly. That is the tension running through a new study of wild bees and wasps in Bavaria, where researchers found that higher post-winter temperatures pushed all five studied species to emerge earlier. But the earlier timing came with a price for some insects, especially those from cooler regions and those that still had to finish development in spring. In some cases, females of summer species lost up to 34 percent of their body mass under warmer conditions before emergence. The work, published in Functional Ecology, was led by Dr. Cristina Ganuza and Professor Ingolf Steffan-Dewenter of the University of Würzburg’s Biocentre. It draws on nearly 15,000 hibernating bees and wasps collected from 178 sites across Bavaria, then raised under controlled spring conditions meant to mimic cool, warm, and hotter climate scenarios. A red mason bee (Osmia bicornis) in its winter quarters, a reed stalk. It has just hatched and is preparing to leave the nest. …
In Southern California, some honeybees appear to be doing what many others across the country cannot: living with one of beekeeping’s most destructive parasites and keeping it under control. That matters at a time when U.S. beekeepers are reporting severe losses. Managed honeybee colonies in the United States have faced annual losses of 40% to 50% in recent years, and losses reached as high as 62% in 2025, according to the source material behind a new study from the University of California, Riverside. One of the biggest reasons is a parasite called Varroa destructor. The mite reproduces inside brood cells and then feeds on adult bees, damaging tissue that bees need for basic survival. The study notes that mites remove fat body tissue, causing an 11% to 19% drop in body weight. They also help spread dangerous viruses, including deformed wing virus, acute bee paralysis virus, and black queen cell virus. Inside a colony, the damage builds. Bees struggle with learning and navigation, foraging suffers, and core tasks such as brood care and thermoregulation begin …
9 min read6 min Andy Burnham remains a likely candidate to replace Keir Starmer if the Prime Minister leaves office before the next election. Tom Scotson goes in search of the people, ideas and forces shaping what would be his third leadership campaign Last October, Andy Burnham was a badly damaged figure. A series of high-profile interventions in the run-up to and during Labour’s conference – widely interpreted as a soft coup – had misfired. Keir Starmer’s allies mocked the so-called ‘King of the North’ as a presumptuous, vainglorious blowhard, a risk to the UK’s financial credibility and a political dead-end for Labour. At this low point, an old friend offered some comradely advice to the Greater Manchester mayor. “Remember what Lenin said in 1917 as he waited for a train in Switzerland,” David Blunkett recalls telling Burnham. “Timing is everything in politics.” The timing – six months on – looks rather different. Labour is braced for heavy losses in elections in Scotland, Wales and England’s local councils. And while the Iran conflict …
Get the Popular Science daily newsletter💡 Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent six days a week. What’s fragrant, floral, and perfectly devious? If you’re confused, imagine what it must be like for the bees ensnared in the colorful clutches of a pink lady’s slipper (Cypripedium acaule). This large species of wildflower has ingenious pollinating tactics that were highlighted by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service on April Fools’ day. But this is no joke. Pink lady’s slippers are members of the roughly 28,000 member orchid family, and their bulbous flowers are generally pink. They grow throughout a significant part of the eastern U.S., usually blooming between May and July. Like many flowers, they draw bees in with their color and fragrance. But what happens next is more dramatic than one might expect. The bee enters the slipper-shaped flower pouch expecting to find nectar, but there is none. “Instead, the bee is now inside a floral escape room with no exits… except one very specific exit,” the federal agency noted. “The entrance closes behind it, …
Exclusive: National Geographic Explorer Bertie Gregory says the well-meaning push to ‘save the bees’ has been widely misunderstood Source link
If you want to attract bees to your garden, a special, shallow “bath”, which isn’t deep enough for our flying friends to fall into, is a great place to start. But for queen bumblebees, apparently, a mini plunge pool would pose no threat. That’s because new research published in the Royal Society’s Proceedings B has found that bumblebee queens can “avoid drowning” through “underwater respiration,” allowing them to live underwater for days. How can bees live underwater? A 2024 paper showed that bumblebee queens can live underwater for anywhere from eight hours to seven days. This newer research sought to figure out how. Some bee species, including bumblebees, enter a period of deep rest called “diapause” in the winter. In that time, their metabolism and development slow way down. But sometimes, the world around them doesn’t stay as rested. Flooding, for instance, can affect a hive (many of which stay underground in the colder months). Scientists figured the response to submersion noted in the 2024 research was a survival tactic from the bumblebee queen. So, …
Cherries dominate and twice hit the woodwork as Andoni Iraola fumes over penalty call Source link
Nature’s most dazzling colors can be strangely rare. Walk through a park or forest and you see greens, yellows and reds that feel soft to the eye. Most of those tones are matte. Only now and then do you spot a buttercup petal or beetle shell that flashes like polished metal. That contrast caught the attention of evolutionary biologist Casper van der Kooi. He wanted to know why glossy colors are uncommon, and what that means for the animals that rely on color to survive. So he turned to bees, artificial flowers and a simple question that leads to a surprisingly deep answer. Matte Signals and a Stable World In your mind, picture a daisy, a great tit’s feathers or a small tree frog. Their colors stay steady as you move around them. Matte surfaces scatter light in many directions, so the shade looks almost the same from every angle and in most lighting. The researchers tested the impact of shininess on visibility for bumblebees in an experimental cage. Full cage left, on the right, …
Keith Andrews’ side win three on the spin to book fourth-round berth Source link
