When faced with a choice between carb loading and a protein-rich, Atkins-style diet, honeybees let their guts decide.
Insulin signals from fat cells in the bees’ abdomens help determine whether they forage for high-protein pollen or sugar-filled nectar, a new study shows. The study, published April 1 in PLoS Genetics, is the first to manipulate insulin signals in honeybees and to show how changes in the signals influence behavior.
Sweet! Honeycomb in a bell jar… Observation hives have always intrigued me. I think I’ll get around to trying one this year. The wife actually gave me permission to set one up in our mudroom. It should be a hoot.
A bell jar was placed on top of a mini hive and bees from the nucleus started to create foundation of a hive in the jar. Once the foundation is laid, the bees work in masses to form the rest of the hive. 14 more pics of bees making hive in a jar after the jump.
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Researchers may have found the cause of CCD.
CHAMPAIGN, lll. – Researchers report this week that they have found a surprising but reliable marker of colony collapse disorder, a baffling malady that in 2007-2008 killed off more than a third of commercial honey bees in the U.S.
Their study, in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, is the first to identify a single, objective molecular marker of the disorder, and to propose a data-driven hypothesis to explain the mysterious disappearance of American honey bees. The team included researchers from the University of Illinois and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
