bumble bees

An analysis of museum data and naturalists' observations finds that the number of bee species recorded has been declining since the 1990s. The first global, long-term study of bee trends adds to mounting evidence that the pollinators are in trouble worldwide.

The rate of population decline is outpacing the ability of the bees to find a new habitat.

Bumblebee colonies grow poorly in landscapes dominated by maize, researchers find.

A high-tech approach to monitoring bee activity inside the nest reveals how the neonicotinoid imidacloprid impairs colony growth.

Urban colonies had more offspring, survived longer, and hosted fewer parasites.

The pesticides, which studies show are harmful to bees, will be prohibited in open fields by the end of 2018.

Researchers pinpoint a protein that can metabolize at least one of the insecticides, highlighting a route to identifying compounds that are friendlier to the critical pollinators.

Scientists identify floral temperature patterns as a sensory cue that may help bees identify flower species. 

Important pollinators under threat from habitat destruction, bumblebees may find refuge on vacant land throughout Michigan’s largest metropolis.

See the urban landscapes in Detroit where researchers are studying the fates of pollinators that adopt a metropolitan lifestyle.

Scientists report that thiamethoxam exposure impairs bumblebees’ reproduction and honey bees’ ability to fly.

Corbiculate bees and their gut-dwelling microbes have been coevolving since the social species evolved from their solitary ancestors around 80 million years ago, scientists suggest. 

Scents left behind by bumblebees may help them remember recently visited flowers. 

A round-up of recent discoveries in behavior research

Statisticians debunk a 2013 study by scientists at a Swiss agrochemical company, which had reported that a neonicotinoid pesticide posed a low risk to honeybees.
 

The federal government concludes the rusty patched bumblebee is nearing extinction.

The Asian honeybee should have been crippled by low genetic diversity, but thanks to natural selection it thrived.

Tiny hairs may enable the insects to detect floral electric fields, according to a study.

Two alpine bee species have evolved shorter tongues, adapting to floral declines related to climate change.