Alberta beekeepers are reporting massive losses of colonies across the province after thousands of bees have been killed off by frigid temperatures and an invasive parasite.

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Article Courtesy of:

Some insects can count, recognize human faces, even invent languages.

You kind of know, going into it, that scientists who have spent their lives studying animal behavior are not going to love being asked, “What is the smartest bug?”

Honey bee at work on a blue Echinop

 

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Photo by Susan Walker / Getty Images .

Article Courtesy of Pocket Worthy

 

Honey bees can recognize faces, communicate the location and quality of food sources to their sisters via the waggle dance, and navigate complex mazes with the help of cues they store in short-term memory. Image: Boba Jaglicic/Unsplash

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Article courtesy MIT Press Reader  – Christof Koch

Everywhere, bees are dying. But it’s not too late to take action to help boost their populations

The world as we know it is dependent on bees. It’s not just that our planet would become a pointless waste of space without honey, but at least a third of our food directly relies on bees for pollination.

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Article courtesy of Harry Cockburn  https://www.independent.co.uk/

Colonies of the non-native species are reaching harmful concentrations in city

Lower crop yields expected if Canadian farmers can’t get bees into country

Canadian beekeepers buy thousands of packages of bees every year to replace hives that died over the winter, but this year those bees aren’t getting into the country.

And it could have ramifications for honeybee farmers, the agriculture industry and consumers.

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Article Courtesy of: Jamie Malbeuf · CBC News

Students at the University of Alberta have created a probiotic that could help save the local honeybee population – and in turn, your avocado toast.

Many of us know our bees need help, and the team of students say they may have some answers about how to help them.

“The bees are in trouble, but I don’t think a lot of people know specifically what’s up with the bees,” said Julia Heaton, a science student at the university.

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UofA Bees Probiotics

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Notice anything missing in your garden this summer?

The extreme heat spell Manitoba has experienced has meant struggles for a number of plants, which in turn means struggles for both wild and domestic bees — at a time of year when there’s usually an abundance of the fuzzy insects.

“The problem we’re having right now with the extreme dryness is the plants are going into heat stress,” Ian Steppler of the Manitoba Beekeepers’ Association told 680 CJOB.

“The first thing a plant does when it goes into heat stress is it cuts back on all its expendable energy. The first thing that typically goes is the nectar production.”

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The biggest scourge to bees is tiny—a mite the size of a pinhead that feeds on them and spreads deadly viruses. Getting rid of the parasite, Varroa destructor, is tough: Chemicals can kill it, but the mite has started to evolve resistance to the usual pesticides; moreover, these and other treatments can harm the bees themselves. Now, researchers have toughened up a mite-killing fungus so it can slay the bee slayers inside a hot beehive. If the new strain passes further tests, it could help honey bees around the world avoid a gruesome fate, and reduce the use of chemical pesticides.

Read More: https://bit.ly/3zjE1tU

Article Courtesy of: Science Mag