One of the most important organisms on the planet is seeing a steep decline in population. In a new study published in Cell Press, scientists reveal a troubling statistic: 25% of all known bee species have disappeared in recent decades. Bees are crucial due to their ability to pollinate all manner of plants, propping up …
New research into the effects of manmade chemicals on insects has revealed that common pesticides can dramatically affect the brains of flies and bees. The chemicals throw the insects out of sync with the typical sleep/wake cycle, causing them to act differently. The flies and bees in the study showed dramatic impacts on the memories …
When you think of common targets for thieves, beehives probably don’t rank high on the list. That didn’t stop someone from nabbing almost 100 beehives from a California orchard, causing tens of thousands of dollars in lost revenue for the owner and leaving local law enforcement scratching their heads. As KCRA reports, the hives belonged …
If you’re looking for a McDonald’s restaurant in Sweden, you just gained another option. A first-of-its-kind McDonald’s location was recently built in the country, and it caters to a very specific crowd. Oh, and you probably won’t be able to fit through the front door, unless you happen to be a bee of course. The …
Despite their reputation for offering painful stings — a result of the general confusion between bees and wasps — bees are absolutely vital to our ecosystem. They pollinate plants, including crops that are a part of our everyday lives, but the numbers of bees in the wild have steadily declined due to humans. One particularly …
When a 28-year-old woman arrived at Taiwan’s Fooyin University Hospital with complaints of eye pain, doctors approached it like a normal, run-of-the-mill case of eye discomfort. Her eye, which was badly swollen, was unable to completely shut, so Dr. Hong Chi Ting peered into the small slit between her eyelid and cheek. That’s when he …
Wearables are all the rage for us humans, delivering all kinds of useful information about our bodies and surroundings. Now, scientists from the University of Washington have developed a wearable system for a much, much smaller creature. Engineers from the university created tiny sensor-packed “backpacks” for bumblebees. As you might have guessed, the devices don’t …
The much-hyped total solar eclipse that streaked across the United States in 2017 changed how a lot of us behaved for a very short period of time. Instead of working or playing, we stared at the skies like a bunch of weirdos for a bit, but apparently humans weren’t the only ones affected by the …
Mankind fancies itself pretty capable when it comes to taming Mother Nature, but many things humans have invented to manipulate nature to our liking have had unintended side effects. The latest example of this might be a herbicide called glyphosate which researchers now claim is actually killing honey bees. In the study, which was published …
Bees and wasps are two very different creatures. Bees are friendly little fellas that give us honey and might maybe leave a welt on your arm if you happen to cross into their personal space. Wasps, on the other hand, are nasty, aggressive fight-starters who come flying out of your Pepsi can to sting you …
