Bees

Bees and flowers: made for each other

You are almost certainly familiar with the expression “as busy as a bee”, but not everybody appreciates just how busy bees and other pollinators are. Modern life is increasingly disconnected from nature and many people barely even notice bees going about their vital work, flying tirelessly from flower to flower. So, today, to mark World Bee Day, let’s look more closely at how pollinating insects behave.

Bees Biodiversity Climate change Flowers Nectar Pollinators

Sergio Osorio defends his doctoral thesis and shows that the rules of ecology can still be revised

Are the insects which begin their adult life in the coldest months the largest? An accepted paradigm within ecology, Bergmann's rule, says that organisms in the coldest regions of the Earth tend to be larger. Two months ago,  Sergio Osorio presented his doctoral thesis at CREAF in which he analyzed this principle to test if seasonality is also related with body size. 

Bees Bergmann @en Ectotherm Extensive agriculture Fenology Insects Nesting Osmia @en Temperature Wasps

Bee decline is a fact

Experts at CREAF say that bee populations are on the decline and that pesticides such as neonicotinoids are one of the main causes. It is important to promote organic, sustainable agriculture and move forward on the prohibition of these compounds. 

Anselm rodrigo @en Bees Bumblebee European comission Fungicide Greenpeace @en Honey bee Human health Jordi bosch @en Neonicotinoids Osia Pest management @en Pollination Pollinators Wild bees