4 February 2017

Honey bees like it sweet – they forage nectar and produce honey. But salt? It may seem strange at the first sight, but they like it salty, too. Putting it in other words: they need minerals. Beekeepers may experience a strong smell from time to time opening their colonies. This is due to this need…

continue reading

9 December 2016

Honey bees originally nest in cavities in about 5 m height. In Tom Seeley’s book “Honeybee democracy” is plenty of information about the nesting preferences of this most known bee species. Beekeeping practices often do not respect these preferences. I already discussed some conflicts of interest between beekeepers and honey bees which may influence colony…

continue reading

12 February 2016

Last week Science published a study about the manmade dispersal of Deformed Wing Virus (DWV). This virus alone causes asymptomatic infections, but in association with Varroa destructor, it becomes a clinical disease closely related to winter losses of honeybees. The parasites are vectors for the virus and only together they cause symptoms like crippled wings…

continue reading

5 February 2016

Bees are an exception to the rule saying that biodiversity is highest in the tropics. This is not true for bees – the climate in the tropics is not favourable for the flowers they forage on. In tropical areas you find other pollinators – like bats or birds – much more often than bees. Hotspots…

continue reading
managed bees, parasites, bee health, Bombus dahlbomii

30 January 2015

When I heard that Bombus dahlbohmii is near to extinction at the EurBee conference in Murcia last September, I was shocked. It was just a small part of Dave Goulson’s plenary talk the first day of the conference, only a comment before coming to the main argument, the impact of pesticides on bumblebees. For me…

continue reading