Category Archives: Science
You, me, the bee, and the wind
Saturday was Windsday here. The forecast claimed we would see record high temperatures and some wind. They were almost right with the temps – it was close to a record and continued the trend of the past two months: warm … Continue reading
Wild bees again
A few days ago, I wrote a snarky blog entry about one researcher’s efforts to alert us to a hazard of urban beekeeping. It is Dr Cartar’s contention that keeping bees in an urban environment robs wild native bees of … Continue reading
Posted in Bee Biology, Beekeeping, Ecology, Science
Tagged habitat loss, Native Bees, Ralph Cartar, urban beekeeping
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Great Reception
Tasmania, respected as the last strong-hold for the Devil and as Australia’s main apple-picking state, has something new to boast about. Scientists are outfitting 5,000 bees with electronic tracking devices. The glued-on sensors are RFIDs (Radio Frequency Identification Devices) which … Continue reading
Posted in Bee Biology, Science, Strange, Odd Stuff, Tools and Gadgets
Tagged GPS, RFID tags, Tasmania
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Can Bees Smell Cancer?
This is an intriguing idea. A Portuguese designer has invented a novel system that might detect various illnesses, including tuberculosis, diabetes, and lung cancer. Susana Soares has built a lovely contraption – a glass bubble inside another bubble which holds … Continue reading
Posted in Apitherapy, Bee Biology, Science, Tools and Gadgets
Tagged bee senses, cancer, odors
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Bees Delivering Pesticides
This sounds so bizarre. At first. Canadian researchers have found an odd way to potentially deliver benevolent viruses, fungi, and bacteria to greenhouse vegetables. Before some lucky bees are allowed to fly inside glasshouses to pollinate peppers and cukes, they … Continue reading
Posted in Ecology, Pesticides, Pollination, Science, Strange, Odd Stuff
Tagged Beauveria bassiana, bee vectors, genetic modification
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Knowing what we don’t know
It’s easy to know a lot these days. But being smart is quite another thing. It can’t be bought or taught. Not the way facts are. The internet is the reason knowing things is all rather easy. I research for … Continue reading
Bud Burst
Enjoying spring?. Soon you may have even more of a good thing. According to a detailed study published by a group of geophysicists associated with the American Geophysical Union, spring will start arriving 17 days earlier in the north, if … Continue reading
Posted in Bee Biology, Climate, Honey Plants, Science
Tagged American Geophysical Union, Spring
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Rattled Flowers
Charles Darwin was a famous geologist before he published his revolutionary evolutionary treatise. He was also a well-rounded naturalist. It was Charles Darwin who discovered that some bumblebee species gnaw into the side of deep-throated flowers, cheating their pollination obligation. … Continue reading
Posted in History, People, Pollination, Science
Tagged Charles Darwin, evolution, yellow rattle
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Wild Bees
This sounds like an interesting job. You may have heard that there are about 40,000 species of bees in the world. Most are solitary, some live loosely with familiar neighbours, and a very small number, like the honey bee, are … Continue reading
Posted in Ecology, Science
Tagged bee species, Cory Sheffield, macropis cuckoo bee, Saskatchewan
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Expressing Genes
What the heck is Gene Expression? Researchers working at the University of Illinois are tricking honey bees in order to learn about something called Gene Expression. As if the poor bugs don’t have enough to worry about, scientists are fooling … Continue reading
Posted in Bee Biology, Genetics, Science
Tagged bee communication, DNA, Gene Robinson
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