Bombus intelligentes: Let's start talking more about how smart and aware bees actually are
Is it just me or do we not regularly talk about bee cognition with as much awe as we should?
In case you missed it this week, a new study from Lars Chittka and team shows how a certain bumble bee (our old friend, Bombus terrestris audax) appears to perform well at a concept-based visual discrimination task (finding the shape that’s “larger than” or “small than” the others being presented) while also switching strategies part way through the testing series. Specifically, the buff-tails in the experiment appeared to switch from initially using a more cognitively complex strategy to find the right answer and get rewarded, to a simpler, more efficient strategy to achieve the same outcome. The details of the experiment are a bit wonky but well worth the read.
And this new study is just the latest reminder about the “myriad impressive cognitive abilities” of bees. Other things we’ve learned recently include:
• Bumble bees can create mental imagery – the ability to recognize objects across senses.
• Solitary female bees are able to remember geometric symbols found next to parasitized nests, and avoid nests near these symbols in future breeding periods.
• Bumble bees are able to learn to use tools by observing others – and then they can improvise and make the task even easier.
• Honey bees can remember reward-associated odors three days after a single learning experience.
• And, of course, honey bees have shown how they can understand numbers, the concept of zero, and match symbols to number.
So, note to self: Bees are cognitively incredible creatures. I promise to talk about this fact more often and with the appropriate amount of wonder.
To quote Professor Chittka from a different story, “We shouldn't just protect bees because we need them as pollinators of our crops, but also because they deserve our respect as individuals with an awareness of the world around them...”
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Conservation
Missouri Bumble Bee Atlas: A statewide project engaging community scientists to track bumble bees
(Xerces Society) A project to better understand the status of Missouri’s bumble bees is being launched this month thanks to a new conservation partnership. The Missouri Bumble Bee Atlas will combine the efforts of the Missouri Department of Conservation; the University of Missouri College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources; two nonprofit organizations, Quail and Pheasants Forever and the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation; and volunteers spread throughout the state.
Urban beekeeping can be bad for wild bees
(CBC) Urban beekeeping has been touted as a way to boost pollination and improve sustainability, food security and biodiversity in cities. Many people and businesses who've added beehives to their backyards and rooftops (including CBC) say they're doing it to help fight declines in bee populations. But researchers say urban beekeepers are likely doing just the opposite when it comes to wild bee species.
Label showing plants safe for bees and butterflies in Wales
(BBC) New labels from the National Botanic Garden of Wales will guarantee eligible plants have no synthetic insecticides and are grown in peat-free compost. “Lockdown has seen a massive growth in gardening with many more people spending extra time and money buying plants to make their gardens more wildlife-friendly, without realizing the plants could contain residues of synthetic insecticides that are extremely damaging to pollinators and to our environment.”
Economics
Pollinator Partnership announces three new designations for bee friendly farming
(Pollinator Partnership) “Pollinator Partnership is proud to announce enhancements and improvements to its Bee Friendly Farming program to better recognize engage and support BFF participants and pollinators everywhere. The new BFF program will have three categories that allow them to engage with all participants at a finer scale while addressing their goals: Bee Friendly Farming Certified, Bee Friendly Farming Partner and Bee Friendly Farming Garden.”
Science
‘Its body looked like a war zone.’ Air pollution could kill off critical honey bees in India
(Science) A 3-year study in India finds that even mildly dirty air could kill 80% of giant Asian honey bees, a key pollinator in South Asia. Documenting numerous behavioral and physiological impacts, the study is the first to provide comprehensive evidence that insects are especially sensitive to particulate matter in the air.
Building a prairie and watching for bees
(University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign) Two years ago, professor Alexandra Harmon-Threatt built this outdoor laboratory by planting more than 80 prairie species, most of them flowering plants. Her mission is to attract wild ground-nesting bees. She is here to see which bees are showing up and how they’re doing. But that’s not all she’s after. “This is a large-scale experiment to see if we can manipulate the soil to benefit bees.”
‘Insect apocalypse’ may not be happening in US
(ScienceDaily, University of Georgia) Scientists have been warning about an “insect apocalypse” in recent years, noting sharp declines in specific areas – particularly in Europe. A new study shows these warnings may have been exaggerated and are not representative of what's happening to insects on a larger scale. However, we need to distinguish between overall changes and smaller ones. For example, particular insect species that we rely on for the key ecosystem services of pollination, natural pest control and decomposition remain unambiguously in decline in North America, the authors note.
Insect diversity boosted by combination of crop diversity and semi-natural habitats
(British Ecological Society) The study, by researchers in Sweden, the UK, Italy, Germany, Spain and France, found that increasing the diversity of crops in agricultural landscapes increased the diversity of beneficial insects such as pollinators. However, this benefit was only seen in landscapes with high proportions of semi-natural habitats such as forests and grassland.
Report: How dicamba herbicides are harming cultivated and wild landscapes
(Xerces Society) “This report discusses what’s known about the wider ecological impacts of dicamba and related herbicides to native plant communities and the wildlife they support, and provide a few short-term and long-term recommendations for reducing environmental harm from these volatile herbicides.”
Society/Culture
Profits from artwork go to entomology scholarships for BIPOC students
(Twitter, Magdadelbosque @magdadelbosque ) “Insects for inclusion is a #gradstudent project that promotes #diversity and #inclusion in #Entomology. We sell cool arthropod pictures and 100% of the money goes to the Advancing Inclusivity in Entomology scholarship from @UCRentomology”
North Carolina bee mural is part of larger artist mission
“This whole story began for me with an experience with one honeybee on the floor of my apartment in Manhattan, and there he was walking really slowly. I just had this opportunity to get out my magnifying glass and look really closely at a bee for the first time. And I just noticed how beautiful they were.”
One More Thing…
This year’s best use of a popular meme for bee-related communication… From Zach Portman @zachportman via Twitter.
I really enjoy The Bee Report. I have shared it with my son and family in Finland. Thy, too, enjoy the information and visuals. Thanks! Colleen Brackett