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 […]
The introduction of European bumblebees in Chile brought the only native species, Bombus dahlbomii, close to extinction. Two species were introduced in Chile, B. ruderatus and B. terrestris. It seems that the latter not only pushed back the native bees, but also transmitted diseases which had this devastating effect to the world’s biggest bumblebee. An […]
Two weeks ago I wrote about my time in Thailand and how an old beekeeper preferred native Apis cerana to European A. mellifera. Unfortunately, it seems that this attitude did not persist: there are several notices that Asian honeybees are in decline. This is again bad news for biodiversity. Last year I saw a poster […]
With the International Year of Pulses, the FAO wants to promote these very valuable dried seeds. Pulses ensure food security, they are highly nutritious and as leguminous plant they fix nitrogen in the soil . The seeds are food for people, the plant residues fodder for animals – they seem to be an important element […]
Flowers and bees have a mutualistic relationsship: this is what we are all taught at school. Flowers give bees a reward for pollinating them – seems to be a win-win situation. But, as often, this does not get the whole picture. There are also bees that steal the reward without giving the service: nectar robbers. […]
Animal welfare is often and intensely discussed for mammals or poultry. Bees on the other hand, only seldomly are considered in these discussions. This may be because it is hard to define what welfare could be for them. We see if a dog or a cow is not well, they are mammals as we are […]
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