The Bee Report / No. 6 / April 2018
Pollinating Drones:
Cool Patent. Wise Investment?
Walmart has applied for a patent for drones to pollinate crops. Which is not surprising since the retailer is now in the food business big time. If there's one thing Walmart aspires to do exceedingly well, it’s minimize the risks in its supply chain. But what might surprise you is just how much a small fleet of drones could cost... Continue reading >
"Bees more dangerous than sharks!"
This is true. But context is really important. Between 2008 and 2015, bees (along with wasps and hornets) were responsible for more deaths than any other animal. But not anywhere near as many as heart disease. So how concerned should the average person be about death by bee?
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I had a couple of really good conversations with researchers about their recent work.
Elsa Youngsteadt: How urban heat affects bee populations
Emily Bailes: Breeding crop flowers to be more attractive to bees
And then there was this: A study by researchers at Bayer AG (a company that manufactures neonicotinoid insecticides), the University of Exeter and Rothamsted Research reported findings on why some neonics might be less toxic to honey bees and bumble bees than others. Specifically: why thiacloprid might be less toxic than imidacloprid. Of course, this new study bumps up against other recent research showing that thiacloprid can be pretty harmful to bees: "The image of thiacloprid as a relatively benign neonicotinoid should now be questioned."