University of Cambridge Plant scientists at the University of Cambridge have found that the cucumber mosaic virus (CMV) alters gene expression in the tomato plants it infects, causing changes to air-borne chemicals - the scent - emitted by the plants. Bees can smell these subtle changes, and glasshouse experiments have shown that bumblebees prefer infected plants over healthy ones. Scientists say …
Entomological Society of America Although corn and soybeans do not need insects for pollination, they do offer floral resources that are used by insect pollinators. So what kind of insects are commonly found in corn and soybean fields? The answer to that question can be found in a new article published in Environmental Entomology. Researchers from Iowa State University used modified pan …
Pesticides beekeepers are using to improve honey bee health may actually be harming the bees by damaging the bacteria communities in their guts, according to a team led by a Virginia Tech scientist. The discovery, published in the journal Frontiers in Microbiology, is a concern because alterations can affect the gut's ability to metabolize sugars and peptides, processes that are vital …
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University of Otago Researchers from New Zealand's University of Otago have discovered the molecular mechanism by which queen honey bees carefully control worker bees' fertility. It has long been known that worker bees have a very limited ability to reproduce in a hive with a queen and brood present, but in their absence, a third of them will activate their ovaries …
By Kim Kaplan USDA Agricultural Research Service WASHINGTON, August 2, 2016—Bacteria in the gut of young honey bees may provide clues about the impact parasites have on bee health. That and other experimental findings were published by U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service (ARS) researchers in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Because young honey bees don't have gut bacteria, …