bees (Page 6)

Humans aren’t the only ones who find themselves entangled in a dancing democracy–it turns out that bees do too–and they do a quantum dance (NOTE: Subscribers can still listen to this show). But since 2006, 20 to 40% of US bee colonies have died out. Has the cause of this finally been identified?

When honeybees seek a new home, they choose the best site through a democratic process that humans would do well to emulate. Biologist Thomas Seeley as documented the elaborate decision-making process that honeybees use when they make the life-or-death choice of a new nesting cavity.
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Are they still disappearing? – Scientists thought they had the mystery of the declining number of bees solved, but other researchers don’t agree with them: They think Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) can be traced to cell phones. But the bees that are still here are working hard (and NOT just gathering honey) So what’s going on, anyway?
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By a femme fatale flower – Some people find orchids erotic, because their shape tends to mimic female sexual organs. Bees find them erotic too, and trick male bees into pollinating them by mimicking the SMELL of female bees. By the time the male has done his job, his body is covered with pollen and he flies away to what he perceives to be another lady bee and deposits it all there. It’s pretty amazing, when you stop to think about it.
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Here’s something new: Smoking and drinking seem to go together and bees think so too!
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