A bumblebee, barred from touching a sphere that's visible in lit conditions, learns about the object through sight alone.

Like Humans, Bumblebees May Create Mental Images in Their Brains

After touching an object in the dark, the insects can recognize it later through sight alone—a complex cognitive feat

Fuzzy and fast flying, bumblebees tend to run warm, and are best adapted to cooler climes.

Climate Change Has Driven Serious Declines in World’s Bumblebees

The number of habitats in North America that bumblebees occupy has fallen by almost 50 percent

Bees from the nest structures: A) Head, side, top and bottom views of bees found inside the cells, B) drawing of Eufriesea surinamensis and photograph of the head of a modern bee taken by David Roubik

Panama

150-Year-Old Mummified Bee Nests Found in Panama City Cathedral

The nests, covered in gold leaf and paint, act as a time capsule for the surrounding environment circa 1870

European honeybees are used by commercial beekeepers worldwide to pollinate crops and produce honey.

New Research

These Bees Fight Varroa Mites With Help From Special Engineered Bacteria

Honeybees with engineered microbiomes were more likely to survive both mites and the viruses they carry

Among the many threats facing honeybees in the United States, the Varroa destructor mite could be the most devastating.

Beekeepers Seek to Save Honeybees From a Colony-Invading Pest

Facing the scourge of a parasitic Asian mite, commercial beekeepers are trying to breed a resistant strain of honeybee, but other threats loom

Minnesota Will Pay Residents to Grow Bee-Friendly Lawns

Leaving lawns untreated and allowing flowering plants to grow can help support the endangered rusty patched bumblebee

Megachile rotunda

Found: A Bees’ Nest Built Entirely of Plastic Waste

It could be a sign of bees’ adaptability to a changing environment—but the habit might also be causing them harm

The insects do not have lungs, so smoke does not pose the same risk as it does to some other animals.

Honey Bees on Notre-Dame’s Roof Survived the Fire

The three hives are located on a roof above the sacristy—around 100 feet below the cathedral’s damaged main roof

Honey gathered from urban beehives offers a surprisingly accurate measure of surrounding communities’ air quality

How Urban Beehives Can Help Researchers Detect Air Pollution

Trace elements found in honey may be able to lead researchers straight to the source of environmental contamination

Wallace's giant bee is nearly four times larger than a European honeybee.

World’s Largest Bee Spotted for the First Time in Decades

The Wallace’s giant bee has been seen only a few times since its discovery in 1858; experts weren’t sure it still existed

New Research

Honey Bees Can Do Simple Math, After a Little Schooling

Researchers trained 14 bees to add and subtract by one, suggesting their tiny brains have found novel ways of doing complicated tasks

Beach primrose, Oenothera drummondii.

New Research

Flowers Sweeten Up When They Sense Bees Buzzing

A new study suggests plants can ‘hear’ the humming of nearby pollinators and increase their sugar content in response

From left, small and large carpenter bees (Ceratina and Xylocopa, respectively, visit a wild rose in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.

Shrinking of Utah National Monument May Threaten Bee Biodiversity

The Grand Staircase-Escalante is home to 660 bee species, 84 of which will live outside of protected land under changes

Trending Today

Researchers Create First-Ever Honey Bee Vaccine

The compound protects against the American foulbrood disease, but the same technique could lead to protection against other major pathogens

Meet your new zombie overlord.

Cool Finds

These Wasps Hijack Spiders’ Brains And Make Them Do Their Bidding

Larvae of the newly discovered species in Ecuador hijacks the spider to build a super-tough incubation chamber

A study conducted during the 2017 total solar eclipse in North America found that bees remained active during the partial-eclipse phases both before and after the period of totality, but they essentially ceased flying during totality.

Busy Bees Take a Break During Total Solar Eclipses

The 2017 North American eclipse gave researchers an inside look at how bees respond to light—with the help of a few hundred elementary-schoolers

Ants and honey bees have been observed reproducing without males before, and now all-female termite colonies join the asexual group.

All-Female Termite Colonies Reproduce Without Male Input

These insects seem to have dispensed entirely of the need for males and their sperm

A male bee releasing its seminal fluid at the USDA bee lab in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The male does not survive the process.

Is the Key to Saving Pollinators … Honey Bee Semen?

In the hopes of preserving their genetic diversity, entomologists are collecting and freezing this valuable fluid

To track down food and ensure the survival of the colony, worker bees must draw on their knowledge of smells, patterns and efficient routes to and from the hive

‘Safe’ Levels of Pesticide Still Hamper Bees’ Memory and Ability to Learn

Scientists analyzed data from more than 100 experiments detailed in 23 studies

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