More trees means healthier bees. Beekeepers detained in Chilean protests. Where giant honey bees rest during migration. And bee bycatch: trash or treasure?
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Conservation
Photo: Renan William Candido
More trees means healthier bees, new study on air pollution shows
(Mongabay) Scientists analyzed levels of chemical pollutants in native jataí bees across eight landscapes in Brazil’s São Paulo state. They found that in landscapes with more vegetation, the bees had fewer pollutants, at lower levels, indicating that the plants act as a filter and protective barrier. The findings add to the growing scientific evidence about the importance of afforestation in urban areas, including creating ecological corridors to connect separate landscapes.
Urban gardens are a dependable food source for pollinators through the year, study suggests
(British Ecological Society, University of Bristol) Despite huge garden-to-garden variation in both the quantity and timing of nectar production, pollinators are guaranteed a reliable food supply if they visit multiple gardens. This contrasts with previous studies on farmland, where pollinators are exposed to boom-and-bust cycles of nectar production with clear seasonal gaps. This means the actions of many independent gardeners result in the emergent property of a stable and diverse provision of food for city pollinators.
Billion Bees Foundation aims to ensure bright future for native species
(ABC News) In the back of Saverio Russo’s pickup truck are millions of bees. The restaurateur and amateur bee rescuer has spent the past year working to rehome thousands of native stingless bees, Tetragonula carbonaria. He’s also attempting to reintroduce native bees to the community and bushfire-ravaged areas of NSW and southern Queensland.
‘Really sad moment’: bogong moth among 124 Australian additions to endangered species list
(The Guardian) They were once so common, swarms of Australian bogong moths almost seemed to “block out the moon” at certain times of the year. Now, the bogong has been listed as endangered on the global red list of threatened species after crashes in its population in recent years. Ecologists say numbers declined by about 99.5% three years ago, likely due to drought, pesticides and light pollution
Economics
Photo: Reuters, Dragomir Yankovic
Four beekeepers detained in protest at Chilean capital, police stung
(Reuters) Honey production has been hurt by a long-term drought in Chile that has withered the bees’ food sources such as flowers and crops. While drought is not uncommon in Chile, the current megadrought has persisted since 2010 and climate change is at least partly to blame, scientists say. The beekeepers want government reform to improve honey prices or to provide subsidies to honey producers. They have asked to meet with President Sebastian Piñera. The beekeepers set around 60 beehives, which contained an estimated 10,000 bees, on the avenue in front of the palace.
Policy/Law
Lawsuit challenges EPA on protecting endangered species from pyrethroid pesticides
(Center for Biological Diversity) The Center for Biological Diversity filed a formal notice of its intent to sue the Environmental Protection Agency for approving more than 300 pyrethroid insecticide products without considering their harm to endangered plants and animals. The EPA has acknowledged the toxicity of pyrethroids to nearly all taxa, including birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, aquatic vertebrates and aquatic and terrestrial invertebrates. The agency has characterized pyrethroids as “highly to very highly acutely toxic to honeybees.”
Science
Photo: Will Robinson
Where giant honey bees rest their wings during annual migration
(Entomology Today) It literally took a lot of sweat and some worrying about a possible snake in the grass, but it paid off for a scientist from Wyoming, whose research beefs up evidence that conservation of migratory insect pollinators hinges as much on the ecological integrity of pit stops during their journey as conditions at either end. Colonies of giant honey bees migrate with the monsoon season, back and forth between highland and lowland nesting sites in Thailand. The scientist observed that the migrating bees regularly use a mango orchard at the same time every year as a stopover bivouac to rest and replenish before continuing on their trip.
From trash to treasure: How bee bycatch can advance ecological research, collaborations
(Entomology Today) Some pest monitoring traps can capture a large number and wide range of non-target insects, including various bee species. In a new report, a group of researchers examine ways to reduce bee bycatch in pest traps while also exploring how bycatch can aid in assessing bee biodiversity, population levels, range shifts, and more.
Critical links between biodiversity and health in wild bee conservation
(Twitter, Alexandra-Maria Klein @naturealexk) “This is a great overview paper about floral diversity and the nutritional health of bees...” Original paper
Society/Culture
Photo: Jim Harrison, Wikimedia Commons
E.O. Wilson, a pioneer of evolutionary biology, dies at 92
(New York Times) Edward O. Wilson, a biologist and author who conducted pioneering work on biodiversity, insects and human nature – and won two Pulitzer Prizes along the way – died on Dec. 26, in Burlington, Mass. He was 92. As an expert on insects, Dr. Wilson studied the evolution of behavior, exploring how natural selection and other forces could produce something as extraordinarily complex as an ant colony. He then championed this kind of research as a way of making sense of all behavior – including our own.
Thomas Lovejoy, renowned biologist who coined ‘biological diversity,’ dies at 80
(National Geographic) Thomas Lovejoy, a well-known American conservation biologist who coined the term “biological diversity” in 1980, died on Dec. 25 at the age of 80. Lovejoy spent more than 50 years working in the Amazon rainforest, founding the nonprofit Amazon Biodiversity Center and bringing worldwide attention to the threats of tropical deforestation. In 1971, he received his first grant from the National Geographic Society, becoming an Explorer at Large in 2019. He also published the first estimate of global extinction rates.
One More Thing…
From From Benjamin Vogt @BRVogt via Twitter.