Home :: National Wildflower Centre. UC Davis: Department of Entomology / Laidlaw Facility: Häagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven. 10 Amazzzzing Bee Facts. Bees: pictures, information, classification and more. Bee Photo by:Dorling Kindersley Bee, common name for a winged, flower-feeding insect with branched body hairs. CharacteristicsBees are dependent on pollen as a protein source and on flower nectar or oils as an energy source. Adult females collect pollen primarily to feed their larvae. The pollen they inevitably lose in going from flower to flower is important to plants because some pollen lands on the pistils (reproductive structures) of other flowers of the same species, resulting in cross-pollination.
Most bees have specialized branched or feathery body hairs that help in the collection of pollen. There are about 20,000 species of bees worldwide. Social Structure and Nesting HabitsBees have diverse nesting and social habits. Solitary BeesThe primitive bees, like their relatives the wasps, are solitary. More about Bees... The Xerces Society » Bees. Bees are undoubtedly the most abundant pollinators of flowering plants in our environment. The service that bees and other pollinators provide allows nearly 70 percent of all flowering plants to reproduce; the fruits and seeds from insect pollinated plants account for over 30 percent of the foods and beverages that we consume. Beyond agriculture, pollinators are keystone species in most terrestrial ecosystems.
Fruits and seeds derived from insect pollination are a major part of the diet of approximately 25 percent of all birds, and of mammals ranging from red-backed voles to grizzly bears. However, many of our native bee pollinators are at risk, and the status of many more is unknown. Habitat loss, alteration, and fragmentation, pesticide use, and introduced diseases all contribute to declines of bees. The Xerces Society advocates on behalf of bees. Learn more about our Pollinator Conservation program. Vanishing Of The Bees. Bees. BBC Nature - Honeybee virus: Varroa mite spreads lethal disease.
7 June 2012Last updated at 22:20 By Victoria Gill BBC Nature The BBC's Victoria Gill:"The new study has pinned down exactly which virus is the honeybee killer" A parasitic mite has helped a virus wipe out billions of honeybees throughout the globe, say scientists. A team studying honeybees in Hawaii found that the Varroa mite helped spread a particularly nasty strain of a disease called deformed wing virus. The mites act as tiny incubators of one deadly form of the disease, and inject it directly into the bees' blood. This has led to "one of the most widely-distributed and contagious insect viruses on the planet".
The findings are reported in the journal Science. The team, led by Dr Stephen Martin from the University of Sheffield, studied the honeybees in Hawaii, where Varroa was accidentally brought from California just five years ago. Crucially some Hawaiian islands have honeybee colonies that are still Varroa-free. But the mite, he explained, "shifts something".
Bee Genes May Drive Them To Adventure. That honeybee lazily probing a flower may actually be a stealth explorer, genetically destined to seek adventure from birth. ADVENTUROUS BEES Honeybees that scout out new food sources (such as this tagged bee above) have biochemical signatures in their brains that suggest scouts are more adventurous than hive mates who aren’t scouts. Courtesy of Zachary Huang Bees who consistently explore new environments for food have different genetic activity in their brains than their less-adventurous hive mates, scientists report in the March 9 Science. This genetic activity relates to making particular chemical signals, some of which are linked to behaviors such as thrill-seeking in people. “This is an exciting paper that raises a lot of interesting questions,” says neurobiologist Alison Mercer of the University of Otago in New Zealand.
Guide To Bee-Friendly Gardens - Home. Honey bee - Apis mellifera. Bees. The Honeybee Conservancy. Welcome to Herbs 'n Honey. Bee Species Outnumber Mammals And Birds Combined. Scientists have discovered that there are more bee species than previously thought. In the first global accounting of bee species in over a hundred years, John S. Ascher, a research scientist in the Division of Invertebrate Zoology at the American Museum of Natural History, compiled online species pages and distribution maps for more than 19,200 described bee species, showcasing the diversity of these essential pollinators. This new species inventory documents 2,000 more described, valid species than estimated by Charles Michener in the first edition of his definitive The Bees of the World published eight years ago.
"The bee taxonomic community came together and completed the first global checklist of bee names since 1896," says Ascher. "Most people know of honey bees and a few bumble bees, but we have documented that there are actually more species of bees than of birds and mammals put together. " Beekeeping in cities. It's about keeping bees in an urban setting. This may mean a small garden, roof terrace, or an allotment. Beekeeping doesn't need to be the reserve of the country folk and you don't need a huge amount of space to keep them. It is possible to have bees in the city and you know what... the honey is gorgeous because our urban honeybees have such a variety of plants and flowers to choose from. Each of the city gardens are as unique as their owners and the bees just love the variety. Skip to top Honeybees have been having a hard time.
Bees seem to do well in an urban environment where there is a rich diversity of plants, flowers and trees in our gardens, railway sidings, roads and disused pieces of land. They are also a great way to reconnect urban dwellers with nature. We need more green spaces in our cities and becoming a beekeeper is part of a growing movement to green our cities. Although not scientifically proven, local honey is also said to cure hay fever. Bees are not like a dog. Urban Bees Hive Talking. Is there a beekeeper near me? We have been asked many times from aspiring beekeepers if we know of beekeepers in their area. This has led us to create a way of mapping the locations of existing and aspiring beekeepers. The 'Hive Talking' map has different coloured markers identifying people who want to offer their land and for people who want to learn - wannabees.
If you are already a beekeeper and are willing to show new comers what a colony looks like you could mark the location of your hive and include contact details. Or if you want to be a beekeeper and are looking for a someone near you to team up with place a marker in the map with your contact details. There are two maps one for entering your location and one for viewing the map with all the locations. We are grateful to the Co-operative's Plan-Bee who helped us with 'Hive Talking'. Honeybee.