Asian honeybees use animal faeces to defend themselves from hornets

Asian honeybees collect animal faeces and place it at the entrance to their hives in an attempt to ward off group attacks by giant hornets Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2262155-asian-honeybees-use-animal-faeces-to-defend-themselves-from-hornets/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…

Honeybees can fly sideways to fit through tight gaps

Bees tasked with flying through a narrow gap will turn sideways to avoid touching the edges, showing that they are aware of how big they are Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2260571-honeybees-can-fly-sideways-to-fit-through-tight-gaps/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…

First ‘Murder Hornet’ Nest In US Is Found In Washington State

An anonymous reader quotes a report from NPR: Remember the “murder hornets”? You know, the terrifyingly large Asian giant hornets that are threatening to wipe out the North American bee population? Entomologists with the Washington State Department of Agriculture have now located a nest of them — the first to be found in the U.S., the agency says. The nest was…

Training bees to prefer certain flower scents boosts seed production

Feeding honeybees scented food makes them more likely to visit flowers with that scent, boosting pollination rates and crop yields Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2254654-training-bees-to-prefer-certain-flower-scents-boosts-seed-production/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…

Honeybees are able to calculate probability and use it to find food

In a lab test, honeybees were able to calculate the probability of an artificial flower dispensing sweetened water, then use this information to inform their foraging strategy Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2253394-honeybees-are-able-to-calculate-probability-and-use-it-to-find-food/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…

Murder hornets? 5 questions answered about Asian giant hornets in North America

Are ‘murder hornets’ from Asia invading North America? An entomologist who lived among them in Japan explains what’s true about the predatory insects. Source: https://earthsky.org/earth/what-are-asian-giant-hornets-dangerous…

Moths Have ‘Secret Role’ As Crucial Pollinators, Research Finds

New research suggests moths play a vital role as overnight pollinators of a wide range of flowers and plants. The BBC reports: The study says that the moths’ transport networks are larger and more complex than those of daytime pollinators like bees. The authors believe there is an urgent need to stem declines in moth numbers. “There’s this big misconception that…

Genetically modified microbiome could protect honeybees from disease

Modifying bacteria found in the guts of bees could help protect the insects against lethal infections affecting hives worldwide Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2231995-genetically-modified-microbiome-could-protect-honeybees-from-disease/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…