What are honey bee researchers missing about industrial ag? Cuckoo bumble bee one step closer to endangered species protection. Locating genes that may help bumble bees adapt to environmental change.
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Conservation
Photo: Benchill, Wikimedia Commons
International tourism and travel can be a pathway for introducing invasive species
(ScienceDaily, Pensoft Publishers) International tourism can facilitate the dispersal of exotic species. A new analysis of data from tourism accommodations and exotic organism detections in New Zealand shows that levels of detection significantly correlated to international and domestic tourist movement, even with population levels taken into account. There was no detectable difference between the risk from international and domestic tourists, indicating that tourism as an activity correlates with the introduction and spread of exotic species.
Shifting rainfall patterns will affect whether an imperiled butterfly survives climate change
(ScienceDaily, North Carolina State University) When we think of climate change, we often imagine how a warmer world will impact species, but a new study highlights the importance of changes in precipitation. The finding suggests that paying attention to the environmental triggers within each species’ lifecycle will help us better understand how they will be affected by climate change.
Earth may have 9,200 more tree species than previously thought
(Science News) Earth hosts roughly 64,100 known tree species. But there could be at least 73,300 – about 14% more than previously thought – a global collaboration of researchers reports. More than a third of the 9,200 undiscovered species are probably rare and hiding out in South America’s biodiversity hot spots, such as the Amazon and tropical Andes.
Economics
Photo: Matt Kelly
Honey bees and industrial agriculture: What researchers are missing, and why it’s a problem
(Twitter, Maggie Shanahan @m_xenen) “In order to support honey bee health in a deep and lasting way, (we) honey bee researchers must recognize industrial agriculture as the root cause of colony loss here in the U.S. and re-orient towards agricultural systems that support wild pollinators. We must reckon with the ways in which the honey bee research community is connected to – and has benefitted from – a system that causes a whole lot of harm. And work to change that system, and address that harm.” Original paper
Effective pollination of greenhouse Galia melon by stingless bee species
(HortiDaily) Increasing demand for pollination services highlights the need for research on alternative pollinators for greenhouse and open field food crops. Researchers compared the foraging behavior and effectiveness of seven endemic African Meliponinae as alternative pollinators to honey bees of greenhouse cultivated Cantaloupe melons. Altogether, the results indicate that stingless bees are more efficient pollinators of sweet melon than honey bees and can be recommended for use in greenhouse crops.
Beeflow and Watts Solitary Bees partner introduce blue orchard bees to California almond orchards
(PR Newswire, Beeflow) “Beeflow, the first company to apply scientific knowledge to pollination and bee behavior to improve crop yields and quality, today announced their plan to develop multi-species pollination programs for the agriculture industry, in partnership with Watts Solitary Bees, a leading solitary bee rearing company. The companies will introduce Blue Orchard Bees to pollinate almond orchards in California beginning this month. Multi-species pollination allows growers to overcome different pollination challenges, deliver higher crop yields and begin to undo the negative effects we have had on our environment by relying only on honeybees.”
Research shows honey bees not the main vectors of cucumber green mottle mosaic virus
(Farm Weekly) BEES themselves may not be the culprits for spreading cucumber green mottle mosaic virus into new areas, a research report has concluded. But while the forager bees are not likely to transmit the disease, the hive components themselves (boxes, hive stands) and vehicles could carry infected soil/plant material which needs to be managed.
60,000 bees stolen from grocery company’s pollinator field
(AP) Nearly 60,000 bees have been stolen from a grocery store company’s field in Pennsylvania.
Policy/Law
Photo: USGS Bee Inventory and Monitoring Lab
Variable cuckoo bumble bee moves one step closer to Endangered Species Act Protection
(Center for Biological Diversity) The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced that the variable cuckoo bumble bee, a critically imperiled species that has not been observed since 1999, may warrant Endangered Species Act protection. The announcement kicks off a one-year status assessment of the species. It would be the first cuckoo bumble bee listed and the third listed bumble bee after the rusty patched bumble bee and Franklin’s bumble bee. The variable cuckoo bumble bee was once widely found in open grasslands and meadows. While it has lived mainly in the eastern United States, it has also been observed as far southwest as Arizona and as far northeast as New Hampshire. It was last seen in the 1990s in Nebraska, Missouri and Florida. There have been no confirmed observations of this species since 1999.
EU plans to ban use of synthetic pesticides in parks
(The Guardian) The use of synthetic pesticides in parks and other green public spaces in urban areas is to be banned in the EU, with member states obliged to cut overall use by 50%, according to a leaked draft regulation. The move is said by the European Commission to be necessary owing to the failure of a number of EU member states to act on previous guidance on reducing the use of chemical pest control.
New York announces actions to protect state's pollinators by restricting use of neonic pesticides
(NYS DEC) New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Basil Seggos announced actions to limit the unrestricted use of pesticides that can harm bee and other pollinator populations. DEC is reclassifying certain products containing the neonicotinoid (neonic) insecticides imidacloprid, thiamethoxam, and acetamiprid as “restricted use” to ensure applications are limited to trained pesticide applicators in specific situations. Restricting the use of these pesticides enables DEC to collect new data to determine where, when, and how they are used, as well as their potential impacts.
Science
Image: Imperial College London
Genes that may be helping bumble bees adapt to environmental change pinpointed
(Imperial College London) Researchers looked at genome sequences of buff-tailed bumble bees (Bombus terrestris) – one of the most widespread European species – to understand how they have been adapting to the dramatic environmental change they have faced in recent evolutionary time. The researchers found signs of recent changes to the genome in areas known to be linked to the nervous system and wing development. They suggest that these genetic changes likely improved the bumble bees’ ability to forage further for food in response to increasing habitat fragmentation and changes in climate.
A new species of bee discovered in Spanish national park
(Muy Interesante, translated from original Spanish) Doñana National Park is one of the top parks in Spain. In the pine forests of this park, a group of researchers has discovered the new species of bee: Andrena ramosa. Its name refers to the only plant whose nectar and pollen it seems to feed on.
Interactions between bee gut microbiotas and pesticides
(ScienceDaily, University of Ottawa) A major review has provided the first field-wide summary of how pesticide exposure affects social bee gut microbiotas and what pesticide-induced disturbances mean for bee hosts.
Researchers examines how viruses affect honey bees’ vision
(StMaryNow.com) Viruses are one of many factors scientists believe are contributing to the collapse of honey bee colonies. Not only do the viruses kill bees; infections also can alter their eyesight and what foods they are attracted to, leaving their colonies with inadequate nutritional content. Armed with a recently awarded U.S. Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture grant, LSU AgCenter researchers are working to learn more about how viruses affect bees’ vision and whether there are ways to help them recover from infections and return to normal foraging behavior.
Photo: El chico de las abejas (Quintos)
Traveling mites hitch a ride on bees
(Twitter, El chico de las abejas (Quintos) @Dinagapostemon, translated from original Spanish) “In some bees, the depression between the mesosoma and the metasoma is known as the Acarinario or Acarinarium. It is a space that allows the transport of phoretic mites in the body of the bee. They probably help him to clean his nest or his body.”
How eusocial ants, bees, and wasps deal with viruses
(Entomology Today) Nowadays, when most people hear the words “virus” and “epidemic,” the human realities of COVID-19 spring to mind. But insects that live in colonies also face viruses, and their lifestyle – which is the exact opposite of social distancing – is prime for epidemics and outbreaks. Researchers recently looked at what it means to be eusocial and respond to viral invaders. They report the ways insect communities use innate immune defenses and also act like a superorganism, deploying social immunity tactics to rise to the challenge.
Can Insects Be Conscious? Let’s Look At Bees First
(Mind Matters) Consciousness does not seem to reside in the neocortex so complex behavior in bees has raised the question for biologists and philosophers alike.
Sunflowers’ bee-attracting ultraviolet also helps retain moisture
(The Scientist) In late summer, from southern Canada to northern Mexico, seas of sunflowers bloom in fields and farms. The flowers, which grow at the top of long, one- to three-meter stems, appear to us to be somewhat uniform, with bright yellow rings of petals adorning brown irises. But bees and other pollinators – which can perceive ultraviolet colors – instead see bullseyes that are darker in the middle and lighter at the edges. According to a recent study, these patterns not only help attract pollinators, the compounds that create them also appear to regulate water loss—potentially helping sunflowers adapt to their environments.
Society/Culture
Photo: Greta Moran
NYC community gardeners might have new protection in the fight against development
(Civil Eats) Designating community gardens as “Critical Environmental Areas” could give neighborhoods a seat at the table when developers move in.
Book review: An up-close look at the secret lives of wild honey bees
(Washington Post) It might be hard to think of the honey bee as a forest creature. Most of us picture honey bees in the context of hives in wooden boxes, managed by beekeepers in heavy white jumpsuits. We don’t think of them living in trees. We don’t think of colonies thriving without human intervention. But forest-dwelling honey bee colonies do exist in the wild. This is the most basic truth you’ll come to understand when reading Ingo Arndt and Jürgen Tautz’s “Wild Honey Bees,” a fascinating work on forest bees in Central Europe. Yet, it’s not the only thing you’ll learn. Arndt and Tautz have produced a book that will change the way you think about bees forever.
One More Thing…
International Garden Photographer of the Year winners
(BBC) Magdalena Wasiczek has been named International Garden Photographer of the Year for her picture of a butterfly, entitled The Stardust. See all the winners.