Please Don’t Feed the Mosquitoes: Facts Explaining Why You are a Magnet

Mosquitoes love me but leave my family alone! What gives? Researchers have been trying to crack this code for years… It is simply unfair when you are out on an amazing hike, or are simply trying to relax in your backyard and you (only you) are getting relentlessly chowed. Meanwhile, your friends and family remain blissfully bite-free. What gives? Better figure …

California’s Wildflowers Losing Diversity in Face of Warmer, Drier Winters

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA - DAVIS These are wildflowers at McLaughlin Natural Reserve, part of the UC Davis Natural Reserve system. (UC Davis photo) Native wildflowers in California are losing species diversity after multiple years of drier winters, according to a study from the University of California, Davis, which provides the first direct evidence of climate change impacts in the state's grassland communities. The …

USDA To Host 6th Annual Pollinator Festival during June 19 Farmers Market

New Display in USDA Headquarters People's Garden Encourages Visitors to Promote Pollinator Habitat and "Plant a Window Box for Pollinators" WASHINGTON, June 17, 2015 - The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is celebrating National Pollinator Week, June 15-21, 2015, by hosting the 6th Annual Pollinator Festival from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Friday, June 19, 2015, in conjunction with the …

Do Insect Societies Share Brain Power?

Social brains may have evolved very differently in insects than in vertebrates DREXEL UNIVERSITY "This nest from eastern Ecuador is one of the largest, most impressive, intimidating wasp colonies I ever encountered," said Sean O'Donnell, Ph.D., professor at Drexel University whose new study focuses on the evolution of social behavior and brain structures for complex cognition in different wasp species, including these, …

Surprisingly Few ‘Busy Bees’ Make Global Crops Grow

University of Vermont A major international study finds that surprisingly few bee species are responsible for pollinating the world's crops. The paper, published in Nature Communications, suggests that only two percent of wild bee species pollinate 80 percent of bee-pollinated crops worldwide. The study is one of the largest on bee pollination to date. While agricultural development and pesticides have been shown to …

Georgia Beekeeper and Engineer Wins 2015 Bayer CropScience Bee Care Community Leadership Award

Paul Vonk Honored During National Pollinator Week for Creating HiveTool™, a Noninvasive System to Monitor Bee Hives WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 16, 2015) – Bayer CropScience today announced that Georgia beekeeper Paul Vonk has won the third annual Bayer Bee Care Community Leadership Award. Paul was chosen because of his efforts to improve pollinator health, by educating the beekeeping community students interested in …