Across animals, variation in body size is often influenced by environmental conditions and is considered to have adaptive value. In bees, in which many species show various degrees of sociality, body size may also be associated with
It has been known for many years that in temperate climates, the European honey bee, Apis mellifera, exists in the form of two distinct populations within the year, short-living summer bees and long-living winter bees. Summer populations’
Invasive species have been largely described as one of the main threats to global biodiversity. The European bumblebee Bombus terrestris was intentionally introduced in Chile in 1997 to be used as pollinator in greenhouse tomato crops because
Females in the animal kingdom are often known to be the choosier sex when it comes to finding the right mating partner. Consequently, differences in female preference for certain male characteristics can be a driving force for
Bees, ants and wasps comprise a biological group named Hymenoptera. In the species of this group, various levels of social organization can be found – from solitary individuals to highly complex social societies. An important characteristic of
There have been a lot of news reports regarding the neonicotinoid insecticides, (NIs) their use and the effects that these may have on the European Honey Bee, (Apis Melifera). The prairies of Canada is one of the
Pesticides are widely used in modern agriculture to protect field crops, but are suspected to harm pollinating insects. In December 2013, the European Commission imposed a moratorium of using three neonicotinoid insecticides (imidacloprid, clothianidin and thiamethoxam) for
How does a small insect, with its tiny eyes and brain, see the world it moves through? Obviously an insect can’t answer our question directly, so scientists have developed other means to uncover the answers. One approach