Bumblebees speed up flowering by piercing plants
When pollen is in short supply, bumblebees damage plant leaves in a way that accelerates flower production, as an ETH research team headed up by Consuelo De Moraes and Mark Mescher has demonstrated.
When pollen is in short supply, bumblebees damage plant leaves in a way that accelerates flower production, as an ETH research team headed up by Consuelo De Moraes and Mark Mescher has demonstrated.
Plants & Animals
May 22, 2020
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1598
When it comes to feeding on pollen, honeybees and bumblebees are generalists. They like a buffet of choices—except when it comes to pollen from flowers of the genus Cucurbita, including squash and pumpkin, which they avoid.
Plants & Animals
Mar 11, 2020
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171
Without enough sugar in their diets, bumblebee queens can experience difficulty reproducing and shorter lifespans.
Ecology
Feb 27, 2020
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318
The study simulated Chernobyl-levels of radiation exposure in a laboratory to investigate the impacts it may be having on insects inhabiting the exclusion zone. Although it has been previously found that bumblebees are sensitive ...
Ecology
Dec 12, 2019
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61
The story of neonicotinoids is growing more nuanced. Europe has banned outdoor use of three of these insecticides to protect bee populations. Two other neonicotinoids are still permitted, but little is known about their impact ...
Environment
Nov 27, 2019
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140
Sulfoxaflor is a systemic insecticide that has been licenced for use in 81 countries around the world, including within Europe and North America. Concerns about sulfoxaflor's impacts on bumblebees were initially raised in ...
Ecology
Nov 5, 2019
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23
Early snowmelt increases the risk of phenological mismatch, in which the flowering of periodic plants and pollinators fall out of sync, compromising seed production.
Plants & Animals
Jul 12, 2019
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1
Imagine becoming a zombie and digging your own grave. OK, don't imagine that.
Plants & Animals
Jul 2, 2019
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0
Many species of wild bumblebees are in decline—and new research shows that diseases spread by domestic honeybees may be a major culprit.
Ecology
Jun 26, 2019
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1
A mite that spreads a dangerous virus among honeybees also plays an indirect role in infecting wild bumblebees, new research shows.
Ecology
Jun 12, 2019
1
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