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Swarm of honey bees around green foliage
Some Honey Bee Swarms Generate Electrical Charges Stronger Than Storms
Small charges carried by individual insects can add up, a study finds, with larger swarms generating substantial electrical fields.
Some Honey Bee Swarms Generate Electrical Charges Stronger Than Storms
Some Honey Bee Swarms Generate Electrical Charges Stronger Than Storms

Small charges carried by individual insects can add up, a study finds, with larger swarms generating substantial electrical fields.

Small charges carried by individual insects can add up, a study finds, with larger swarms generating substantial electrical fields.

honey bees

Octopus in tank lined with black dots
Do Invertebrates Have Emotions?
Natalia Mesa, PhD | May 26, 2022 | 10+ min read
And how do scientists go about answering that question?
Bee on purple flower
Dopamine Drives Bee Desires: Study
Natalia Mesa, PhD | Apr 28, 2022 | 3 min read
Like in humans, the neurotransmitter appears to play a role in generating wanting-like behavior and, perhaps, happy memories in honeybees.
bees, bumblebee, honeybee, insect, pollination, pollinator decline, insect decline, biodiversity
Bee Reports over the Past Century Indicate a Loss of Diversity
Asher Jones | Jan 22, 2021 | 8 min read
An analysis of museum data and naturalists' observations finds that the number of bee species recorded has been declining since the 1990s. The first global, long-term study of bee trends adds to mounting evidence that the pollinators are in trouble worldwide.
an Asian giant hornet
Researchers Try to Head Off “Murder Hornets” Coming into US
Shawna Williams | May 4, 2020 | 2 min read
Asian giant hornets were found for the first time in Washington State and could reemerge in the spring.
Engineered Microbe in Bees’ Guts Fends off Deadly Varroa Mite
Lisa Winter | Jan 31, 2020 | 2 min read
The genetically modified bacteria spark an RNAi response in the parasite that leads to self-destruction—and perhaps a path to combatting colony collapse disorder.
beekeeper honeybee colony collapse varroa mite
Winter Bee Declines Greatest in 13 Years: Survey
Ashley P. Taylor | Jul 1, 2019 | 2 min read
US honeybee colonies took the largest hit since the Bee Informed Partnership started counting in 2006.
Honeybee with varroa mite sitting on honeycombs
Artificial Intelligence Could Help Monitor Bee Health
Anna Azvolinsky | May 1, 2019 | 5 min read
A high school student designs a new beehive and gets help from machine learning to monitor for varroa mite infestation.
Honeybees Enter Virtual Reality So Scientists Can Study Their Brains
Jess Romeo | Feb 14, 2019 | 3 min read
Researchers record neurological changes in a region called the mushroom body in the brains of bees completing a maze in a virtual environment.
a smiling man covered in bes
Image of the Day: All in a Day’s Work
Shawna Williams | Oct 8, 2018 | 1 min read
A bee researcher finds that his subjects are protected from viral infections when they dine on fungus.
Celebrated Brazilian Bee Scientist Warwick Kerr Dies
Vijay Shankar Balakrishnan | Oct 2, 2018 | 4 min read
Revered as a humanitarian and scientist, Kerr was also blamed for the introduction of aggressive Africanized bees to the Americas.
Herbicide May Harm Microbiome of Bees
The Scientist Staff | Sep 26, 2018 | 2 min read
Glyphosate perturbs the balance of gut bacteria in honey bees and increases the insects’ susceptibility to lethal infection.
As Bees Specialize, So Does Their DNA Packaging
Shawna Williams | Sep 11, 2018 | 3 min read
A study of chemical tags on histone proteins hints at how the same genome can yield very different animals.
Bees Appear Able to Comprehend the Concept of Zero
Ashley Yeager | Jun 7, 2018 | 3 min read
The insects correctly ordered an absence of black dots as “less than” a group of black dots.
EU States Vote to Ban Neonicotinoids
Diana Kwon | Apr 27, 2018 | 2 min read
The pesticides, which studies show are harmful to bees, will be prohibited in open fields by the end of 2018.
War Dance of the Honeybee
Karl Gruber | Feb 1, 2018 | 2 min read
One species has developed a novel waggle to warn about invading wasps.
Bees Under Attack
The Scientist | Jan 31, 2018 | 1 min read
Japanese honeybees (Apis cerana japonica) respond to an attack by a Vespa mandarinia wasp.
Image of the Day: What Does a Bee See?Ā 
The Scientist and The Scientist Staff | Dec 21, 2017 | 1 min read
Scientists identify floral temperature patterns as a sensory cue that may help bees identify flower species. 
Bees Live the City Life in Detroit
Catherine Offord | Sep 1, 2017 | 4 min read
Important pollinators under threat from habitat destruction, bumblebees may find refuge on vacant land throughout Michigan’s largest metropolis.
City Bees
The Scientist | Aug 31, 2017 | 1 min read
See the urban landscapes in Detroit where researchers are studying the fates of pollinators that adopt a metropolitan lifestyle.
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