5 new species of cuckoo bees from the Cape Verde Islands
According to scientists at Arizona State University, honey bees may hold clues to human taste perception and metabolic disorders.
Japanese honeybees face a formidable foe in the Asian giant hornet, a fierce predator that can reach 40mm long or larger, but the bees have developed a novel defense mechanism: they create a "hot defensive bee ball," swarming around the hornet and literally cooking it.
Wild bees are important pollinators and numerous studies dealing with pollination of wild plants and crops underline their vital role in ecosystems functioning.
Bumblebees can use cues from their rivals the honeybees to learn where the best food resources are, according to new research from Queen Mary, University of London.
The Physiology and Zoology Sciences are two new key categories covered by the Sciences Social Network ScienceIndex.com.
No laggards, those bees and plants.
A new study of bees has come to the conclusion that bee swarm communication works similarly to that of neurons in the human brain.
Smithsonian scientists have discovered two new, closely related bee species: one from Coiba Island in Panama and another from northern Colombia.
Melissophobia or the fear of bees, from Greek melissa, meaning honey bee and phobos, meaning fear, and sometimes misspelled as melissaphobia and known also as apiphobia, is one of the most common fears among people and is kind of a specific phobia. The majority of the population have been stung by a bee or had friends or family members stung. A child may fall victim to a bee sting while playing outside. The sting can be rather painful and in some individuals results in swelling which might...
Apiology is the scientific study of honey bees, a subdiscipline of melittology (the study of all bees), which is a subdiscipline of entomology. Melittology comprises of more than 17,000 species other than the honey bee. Apiology includes apicology, which is the study of honey bee ecology. Honey bees are often chosen as a study group to answer questions on the evolution of social systems. People who study honey bees are called apiologists. There have been a number of notable apiologists...
The bumblebee is a flying insect of the genus Bombus in the family Apidae and a relative of the common honeybee. The bumblebee feeds on nectar and gathers pollen to feed its young. They are beneficial to humans and the plant world alike, and tend to be larger than other members of the bee family. Most bumblebee species are gentle. From this comes their original name: "Humblebee". Bumblebees are social insects that are known for their black and yellow striped bodies, a commonality among the...
PHOTO CAPTION: Megachile centuncularis (L.) a European leaf-cutter bee, cutting a Wisteria leaf. Photo taken by Keith Edkins The Megachilidae are a family of mainly solitary bees. They carry pollen in specialized structures called scopae. These scopae are located under the abdomen, rather than on the hind legs like in the honey bee. Megachilidae are commonly known as mason and leaf cutter bees, reflecting the materials they build their nest cells from, such as clay or leaves. Most species...
Carpenter bees (Xylocopinae subfamily) are considered to be important pollinators, especially of open-faced flowers, though they are also known to "rob" nectar by boring holes in the sides of flowers with deep corollas (thus not accomplishing pollination). The smaller species tunnel into pithy stems to build their nests. Other species bore holes in wood and can become pests in wood construction. Carpenter bees are often mistaken for bumblebees. They are similar in size and coloring. The...