Animal pollinators support the production of three-quarters of the world’s food crops, and many flowers produce nectar to reward the pollinators. A new study using bumblebees has found that the sweetest nectar is not necessarily the best: too much sugar slows down the bees. The results will inform breeding efforts to make crops more attractive […]
Solitary female bees inspect other nests for signs of danger before making decisions on where to build their own, a new London-based study suggests. The study, led by researchers at Queen Mary University of London, found the clever bees looked for signs of parasite infection in other species‘ nests and used this information to select a […]
A team of researchers with Charles University and the Czech Academy of Science has discovered a species of bee where males guard a nest while females are off gathering food for their young. In their paper published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the group describes their study of Ceratina nigrolabiata and what […]
Scientists from The University of Texas at Austin report in the journal Science that they have developed a new strategy to protect honey bees from a deadly trend known as colony collapse: genetically engineered strains of bacteria. An increasing number of honey bee colonies in the U.S. have seen the dwindling of their adult bees. According […]
Loss of the vital pollinators, due in part to temperature extremes and fluctuations, could have dire consequences for ecosystems and agriculture. BUMBLEBEES, AMONG THE most important pollinators, are in trouble. Fuzzy and buzzy, they excel at spreading pollen and fertilizing many types of wild flora, as well as crucial agricultural crops like tomatoes, blueberries, and […]
Block diagram of proposed model. Credit: Shukla & Jain. Ingrid Fadelli , Tech Xplore Over the past decade or so, advances in machine learning have paved the way for the development of increasingly advanced speech recognition tools. By analyzing audio files of human speech, these tools can learn to identify words and phrases in […]
A figure explaining how the RNN-ABC method proposed by the researchers works. Credit: Qureshi et al. by Ingrid Fadelli , Tech Xplore In recent years, new technological advances have led to a growing number of devices, ranging from more conventional computers to other gadgets and smart home appliances, communicating and sharing data with one another. […]
Close study of bees in water revealed that they generate asymmetric waves, which they use to propel themselves forward. Credit: Chris Roh and Mory Gharib / Caltech Walking on Caltech’s campus, research engineer Chris Roh (MS ’13, Ph.D. ’17) happened to see a bee stuck in the water of Millikan Pond. Although it was […]
Bee vets have gathered in Edinburgh to meet the Scottish Bee Health Team and discuss its vital task of keeping the “national colony” healthy and disease free. The British Bee Veterinary Association (BBVA) met at Science and Advice for Scottish Agriculture (SASA) – part of the Scottish Government. BBVA president John Hill joined the gathering […]
A solitary bee leaves an artificial nest. The individual breeding chambers are separated and each contains only one larva. This prevents direct contact with sisters or mothers. Credit: Alexander Keller / University of Wuerzburg More than 90 percent of all bee species are not organized in colonies, but fight their way through life alone. They […]