bumblebees

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Even Insects Have Culture
Even Insects Have Culture
NEW STUDY
Mar 9, 2023 1:54 PM CST

Even Insects Have Culture

Social learning among bumblebees suggests animal culture might be 'widespread'

(Newser) - A new study is helping transform the idea that culture is reserved for humans, primates, and birds, offering evidence of "culture-like phenomena" including social learning in bumblebees. Researchers at London's Queen Mary University trained bumblebees to open a puzzle box holding a sugar solution, either by pushing a...

California Judge Makes Unusual Ruling on Bumblebees

Invertebrate insect can be classified as a fish for endangered species protections

(Newser) - In a case that gives new meaning to "fish out of water," a California appeals court judge has ruled that the bumblebee can be classified as a fish. Justice Ronald Robie of Sacramento's 3rd District Court of Appeal made his decision Tuesday, and it was done for...

It's Getting Much Harder to See a Bumblebee
It's Getting Much Harder
to See a Bumblebee
in case you missed it
Feb 9, 2020 3:00 PM CST

It's Getting Much Harder to See a Bumblebee

Researchers report a big decline, blame warming temperatures

(Newser) - If you're a middle-aged American, it's a lot harder to spot a bumblebee buzzing around now than when you were kid. Researchers say the chances of seeing a bumblebee in North America today is 46% less than in the 1970s, reports NPR . Europeans also have worse odds of...

Scientists Make 'Critical' Find on Honeybees, Herbicide

Glyphosate, used in Monsanto's Roundup, may kill off insects' essential gut bacteria

(Newser) - Animals don't seem to be harmed by the world's most widely used weedkiller, but bees apparently don't fall under that protective umbrella. "This is really critical," one entomologist tells Science of a new study showing the digestive system of honeybees (and possibly other bees as...

White House May Have Doomed Bumblebee Species

Executive order halts move to protect species

(Newser) - President Trump doesn't have anything in particular against bumblebees, as far as anybody knows, but his administration may still have doomed a struggling species. The rusty patched bumblebee was supposed to be officially added to the endangered species list Friday, after a 30-day waiting period following one of former...

US Lists First Bumblebee Species as Endangered

Population of rusty patched bumblebee has dropped 90% since late '90s

(Newser) - If Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov had been prescient, he may have named his famous orchestral piece "Plight of the Bumblebee." The rusty patched bumblebee , or Bombus affinis, is now the first US bumblebee placed on the endangered species list, the Guardian reports. Seven other bees from Hawaii previously made the...

Bumble Bees Learn Trick, Surprise Researchers

Most figured out how to pull string for reward after seeing how it's done

(Newser) - Ever wondered how tiny a bumble bee's brain is? Imagine a sesame seed clinging to a burger bun, reports the Washington Post —in other words, it's about 0.0002% the volume of a human brain, as calculated by Science . But that doesn't mean you can't...

Anyone Who Eats Food Should Be Worried About This Bee

It's the first proposed for endangered species list

(Newser) - The rusty patched bumblebee has gone from a widespread and well-known pollinator to the edge of extinction in just 20 years. Reuters reports that the species, which got its name from the reddish patch on its abdomen, has been proposed for the endangered species list by the US Fish and...

25K Dead Bumblebees Fall From Trees in Oregon

Pesticides likely culprit

(Newser) - A Wilsonville, Oregon, Target parking lot has seen what could be the biggest-recorded mass bumblebee die-off in the Western US. The 25,000 deaths were first noticed on Saturday, as bees tumbled from 55 linden trees in bloom, the Oregonian reports. "They were literally falling out of the trees,...

Bumblebees Scarce in Midwest
 Bumblebees Scarce in Midwest 
Feb 28, 2013 6:34 PM CST

Bumblebees Scarce in Midwest

Studies suggest they're also in trouble, just like honeybees

(Newser) - It is not just honeybees that are in trouble. The fuzzy American bumblebee seems to be disappearing in the Midwest. Two new studies in today's journal Science conclude that wild bees, including the American bumblebee, are increasingly important in pollinating flowers and crops that provide us with food. And,...

Flowers Use Electricity to Talk With Bees
Flowers Use Electricity
to Talk With Bees
study says
Feb 22, 2013 9:00 AM CST

Flowers Use Electricity to Talk With Bees

By changing charge, flowers keep away bees until nectar refilled, says study

(Newser) - "Say it with flowers," went the old advertising slogan, but who knew flowers were this talkative? It turns out flowers give off electrical signals that bees can pick up on, telling potential pollinators whether a flower has plenty of nectar or has recently been tapped, reports NPR . According...

US Bumblebee Populations In Freefall

Half of species studied are in steep decline

(Newser) - The collapse in honeybee populations has been getting all the attention, but bumblebees are also in serious trouble, according to a new study, Populations of four common species of bumblebee in the US have dropped by up to 96% over the last few decades, according to a nationwide census of...

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