Bee Behavior Affected by Pesticides and Temperature
Climate change and pesticides spell double trouble for bee behavior, but pesticide risk to bees varies depending on the temperature.
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Bee Phenology: How Are Bees Feeling the Heat?
Rising temperatures in recent years have been linked to observed shifts in bee phenology. These changes may impact pollination.
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Urban Bees: A Pollination-Parasite Trade-Off
Are cities the ideal home for bees? European scientists found that urban bees can have surprisingly good pollination rates. By Jonathan Trinastic Few people would consider cities the ideal home for bees, but what if these dense population centers could provide the means for healthy cohabitation? Scientists from Europe recently examined how bumblebees visit and pollinate flowers across urban and agricultural regions and found that urban areas can have a surprisingly beneficial effect on pollination rates. The reasons behind these results not only provide insight into how cities could be…
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Flower Power: The Physics of Pollination
By Marie Davey @biophilesblog Pollination. The word brings to mind the droning buzz of fat yellow and black bumblebees bouncing from blossom to blossom in flower-decked meadows. But up close and in person, pollination is often anything but idyllic. The physical forces involved in pollination can be impressive, and both plants and insects must be well adapted to withstand them. The flowers of bunchberry (Cornus canadensis) generate impressive physical forces, acting as tiny pollen catapults. Bunchberry flower buds have petals that are fused to one another and completely enclose the…
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