Urban bees face flower deficit. Air pollution confuses bees, reduces pollination. Bee bricks initiative may do more harm than good. Disney feeds gingerbread houses to bees.
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Conservation
Photo: Daniel Acker, Bloomberg
Urban bees face a flower deficit
(Bloomberg CityLab) An examination of 14 cities in Switzerland adds heft to concerns that urban beehives can overtax city green spaces, potentially harming native pollinators. “We’re adding thousands of beehives in a city without any knowledge of the available resources. We just assume the city can provide because bees eat floral resources, and we perceive that there are unlimited flowers in the city.”
Small gardens as vital as big ones for conserving bees
(The Guardian) Small gardens are as important as big gardens for conserving bees and other pollinators in U.K. cities, a study has found. Worldwide, bee populations are declining. Habitat destruction, pesticide use, and climate change have led to the disappearance of some pollinators, but researchers found that small urban gardens are some of the most pollinator-friendly places. They found that the size of gardens in Bristol had little relationship to the amount of nectar produced.
Economics
Photo: University of Florida
Honey bee appearance and behavior may be related
(Phys.org, University of Florida) Recently discovered genetic knowledge of two nuisance western honey bee subspecies will help commercial and hobby beekeepers. A new study identified genetic characteristics relevant to the production and behavioral attributes of these two key bee subspecies. For example, researchers found Cape bees to be significantly darker than Africanized bees. This dark coloring could be genetically correlated to their undesired behavior. “Color phenotype is an important aspect to beekeeping management. It can help beekeepers know what type of honey bee they have.”
How honey is helping to save the spectacled bear
(CNN) Fewer than 10,000 spectacled bears remain, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Severe drought, as a result of climate change, has led local farmers to replace agricultural production with cattle ranches. The bears, struggling to find food in their own shrinking habitat, encroach on this land and sometimes kill livestock, which leads to farmers killing the bears in retaliation. But one NGO trains local people as beekeepers. The idea is that by generating a healthy income from honey, it offers an economic alternative to cattle ranching.
Policy/Law
Photo: Nature Picture Library, Alamy
U.K. bee bricks initiative may do more harm than good
(The Guardian) The council in Brighton has passed a planning initiative that requires any new building more than five meters high will have to include swift boxes and special bricks with holes known as bee bricks. They will provide nesting and hibernating space for solitary bees. However, scientists have warned that such a move will not make any real difference for biodiversity, with some arguing that it could make matters worse for bees if the holes are not cleaned properly and attract mites or encourage the spread of disease. “We are kidding ourselves if we think having one of these in every house is going to make any real difference for biodiversity. Far more substantial action is needed, and these bricks could easily be used as ‘greenwash’ by developers.”
U.K. charities condemn ‘betrayal’ of allowing bee-killing pesticide in sugar beet crops
(The Guardian) The U.K. government has ignored the advice of its scientific advisers to allow sugar beet farmers to deploy a banned bee-killing neonicotinoid pesticide in 2022. British Sugar has successfully applied for an exemption to permit the banned pesticide, known as Cruiser SB, to be used in England this year because of the threat to sugar beet posed by a virus transmitted by aphids.
Science
Photo: CC0 Public Domain
Air pollution significantly reduces pollination by confusing bees and butterflies
(Phys.org, University of Reading) Common air pollutants from both urban and rural environments may be reducing the pollinating abilities of insects by preventing them from sniffing out the crops and wildflowers that depend on them, new research has shown. Scientists found that there were up to 70% fewer pollinators, up to 90% fewer flower visits and an overall pollination reduction of up to 31% in test plants when common ground-level air pollutants, including diesel exhaust pollutants and ozone, were present.
Sunflowers’ invisible colors help them attract bees and adapt to drought
(University of British Columbia) It turns out sunflowers are more than just a pretty face: the ultraviolet colors of their flowers not only attract pollinators, but also help the plant regulate water loss.
New York’s Central Park becomes a living climate laboratory
(Scientific American) Central Park means a lot of things to New Yorkers: playground, meeting place, natural oasis, arts venue and movie set, to name just a few. Soon it will gain another title: living laboratory – specifically a research site to study how climate change affects urban parks. Under a collaboration between the Yale School of the Environment and two New York City-based nonprofits, researchers will monitor, map and analyze changing climate conditions in the 843-acre park to better understand how warming affects trees, plants, wildlife and the tens of thousands of humans who use it every day. “What we want to do is study Central Park as an ecosystem, as a coupled human-natural system, and we're looking at it top-down and bottom-up – from soils to satellites."
Society/Culture
Image: Handout, Getty Images
Disney World gingerbread houses are fed to Florida bees every year
(Insider) Each winter, Disney World decorates some of its most luxurious hotels with giant, handmade gingerbread houses. At the end of the season the gingerbread is used for composting and the icing is fed to thousands of Florida bees at a nearby tree farm that Disney owns.
Native Pollinator Garden Recipe Cards
(Twitter, Pollinator Partnership @Pollinators) “Start planning your pollinator garden with the Native Pollinator Garden Recipe Cards! These were designed with easy to follow guidelines for creating home pollinator gardens that provide diverse floral displays across growing seasons.” Download cards
One More Thing…
Vegetation by altitude, 1800s, Jean-Augustin Barral. From Rosie @Rosie_H_Taylor via Twitter.