Happy New Year (No, seriously. I mean it.)
Happy New Year. What a strange thing to say when it feels like we’re two weeks into the thirteenth month of 2020. But saying Happy New Year isn’t necessarily meant to be descriptive of the current moment; it’s also aspirational for what the year can become.
This first Bee Report of 2021 is exclusively a round-up of all the bee-related news from the past few weeks. No original reporting this week. This is partly because there’s been so much news that others have covered. But it’s also because I’m currently working on several different stories for publication. A couple of those stories are bee-related. But I’m also working for our local newspaper covering the COVID-19 vaccine rollout here in our part of rural western New York. All of this is work I’m super excited to be doing and looking forward to sharing with you.
However, the bee-related news never stops and neither does the Bee Report. So enjoy this first issue of 2021. And Happy New Year!
Conservation
How an ethanol plant is dangerously polluting a U.S. village – with insecticides
(The Guardian) For the residents of Mead, Nebraska, the first sign of something amiss was the stench, the smell of something rotting. People reported eye and throat irritation and nosebleeds. Then colonies of bees started dying, birds and butterflies appeared disoriented and pet dogs grew ill, staggering about with dilated pupils.
Scientists decry death by 1,000 cuts for world’s insects
(AP) The world’s vital insect kingdom is undergoing “death by a thousand cuts”, the world’s top bug experts say in a special package of 12 studies in the Proceedings of the National Academies of Sciences. Climate change, insecticides, herbicides, light pollution, invasive species and changes in agriculture and land use are causing Earth to lose probably 1% to 2% of its insects each year. The problem, sometimes called the insect apocalypse, is like a jigsaw puzzle. And scientists say they still don’t have all the pieces, so they have trouble grasping its enormity and complexity and getting the world to notice and do something.
Climate change reduces the abundance and diversity of wild bees
(Penn State) Wild bees are more affected by climate change than by disturbances to their habitats, according to a team of researchers. The findings suggest that addressing land-use issues alone will not be sufficient to protecting these important pollinators.
Researchers make ‘high-vis vests’ to help monitor bee behavior
(EurekAlert, British Ecological Society) Researchers attached retroreflective tags to seven species of wild bee and to a commercially-bred U.K. bumblebee subspecies. Then, the foraging behavior and 3D flight path of various bees was monitored using the web interface of a custom-built, real time tracking system. "Finding the bee itself is difficult, and finding wild bee nests in the first place is massively difficult and time-consuming, especially for rarer or less-known species. This tool hopefully will make finding them far easier, making these studies a practical approach."
Ecologist receives grant to study pollinator habitat in utility rights-of-way
(EurekAlert, Northern Arizona University) One factor contributing to the decline of bee and pollinator populations is the degradation and loss of their habit. Utility companies have an opportunity to improve the habitat for pollinators in their rights-of-way created through the landscape for power lines. One ecologist believes findings from her research will help power companies develop strategies.
Clearing land to feed a growing human population will threaten thousands of species
(Science News) By 2050, humans may need to clear an additional 3.35 million square kilometers of land for agriculture. Converting these largely natural habitats, collectively about the size of India, would squeeze more than 17,000 vertebrate species from some of their lands.
Economics
Could artificial pollen make life sweeter for honey bees?
(The Guardian) California’s booming almond industry has created a vast monoculture of bees, with little natural forage. The honey bees need to be in place to raise their broods before the pollen comes into season, forcing beekeepers to use pollen patty substitutes to keep them alive. After studying the honey bees used to pollinate almond trees for many years, a biologist at the University of Oxford realized that unless this pollen substitute was actually tailored to the specific nutritional needs of a honeybee colony, colonies can fail altogether. “Nobody had done a really careful study of bee nutrition and the qualities of pollen.”
Policy/Law
Lawsuit launched to protect firefly, bees, poppy under Endangered Species Act
(Center for Biological Diversity) The Center for Biological Diversity filed a formal notice of its intent to sue the Trump administration for failing to protect four imperiled insects and one plant under the Endangered Species Act. The insects are the Bethany Beach firefly, Franklin’s bumblebee, Gulf Coast solitary bee and Mojave poppy bee, a solitary and specialist pollinator that depends on a plant species called the Las Vegas bearpoppy, also named in the notice.
Government breaks promise to maintain ban on bee-harming pesticide
(The Guardian) A pesticide believed to kill bees has been authorized for use in England despite an EU-wide ban two years ago and an explicit government pledge to keep the restrictions. Following lobbying from the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) and British Sugar, a product containing the neonicotinoid thiamethoxam was sanctioned for emergency use on sugar beet seeds this year because of the threat posed by a virus.
Science
Bumble bees lacking high-quality habitat have higher pathogen loads
(Penn State) Bumble bees found in low-quality landscapes – characterized by a relative lack of spring flowers and quality nesting habitat – had higher levels of disease pathogens, as did bumble bees in areas with higher numbers of managed honey bee hives.
Big bumble bees learn locations of best flowers
(University of Exeter) New research shows that big bumble bees take time to learn the locations of the best flowers. However, smaller bumblebees – which have a shorter flight range and less carrying capacity – don't pay special attention to flowers with the richest nectar.
Brain gene expression patterns predict behavior of individual honey bees
(University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign) The study revealed that the activity profile of regulator genes known as transcription factors in the brain strongly correlates with the behavior of honey bees. A single transcription factor can induce – or reduce – the expression of dozens of other genes.
Baby honey bees deprive caregivers of sleep
(Scientific American) Honey bee larvae and pupae appear to secrete a chemical that does the work of a late-night cup of coffee on their nurses.
New bee discovered after fire in Great Smoky Mountains
(Citizen Times) It’s a variety of cellophane-cuckoo bee called Epeolus inornatus discovered by researchers studying how the 2016 Chimney Tops II fires affected the park. “This is the first time that this bee species has ever been reported in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. While it’s probably been around the park before now, it was only discovered because we wanted to know how the park’s ecosystem is recovering from the fires.”
Four new bee species appeared in Belgium last year
(The Brussels Times) Four new species of bees have appeared in Belgium last year, several of which were found in Brussels, Flemish nature protection organization Natuurpunt reports. In addition, several other species have managed to “conquer the entire country” within a few years, and others yet “are making a remarkable comeback”.
A new bee species is discovered in Israel
(ISRAEL21c) A new species of bee unique to the sand dunes of Israel’s coastal plains has been identified and described by a taxonomist from the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences in Brussels.
Society/Culture
Search on for the first bumble bee of the year
(Davis Enterprise) In memory of native pollinator specialist Robbin Thorp, UC Davis distinguished emeritus professor of entomology, the Bohart Museum of Entomology is sponsoring the inaugural Robbin Thorp Memorial First-Bumble-Bee-of-the-Year Contest. The winner receives bragging rights and a gift from the Bohart Museum.
One More Thing…
This: “my record of local daily temperatures during 2020... in blanket form.” From Susie Hailey (Grant) @susie_hailey via Twitter.