Frozen Part 2: The Cold Imposter, Bombus hyperboreus. The Arctic bumblebee (Bombus polaris) is widespread around the Arctic Circle, where it has evolved unique behavioural and physiological adaptations to cope with the frigid conditions and short productive summer. But a
Frozen Part 1: Life in the Fast Lane; Bombus polaris. Bees have colonised every continent, excepting Antarctica, so that must mean they have encroached upon the frozen wasteland of the Arctic. But what sort of bees can exist within the
‘Fly bees’ and ‘Forest Honey’. Of the eight extant species of honey bee, the most ancient lineage belongs to two very small species that build idiosyncratic nests composed of a single comb formed around a small branch or twig. Apis
Gynandromorphism and the Motherless Bee. This discussion centres around a rare genetic condition that is best recognised amongst organisms in which there is significant sexual dimorphism (or obvious differences between the sexes), and has been known to occur in insects,
The Honey Bee in Australia Part 2: The Most Successful of Immigrants! European Honey bees quickly became established in Australia, and early potential for the establishment of a beekeeping industry was apparent. Mild climatic conditions meant that less honey had
The Honey Bee in Australia Part 1: A Bicentennial Looms. Prior to European settlement in Australia, the indigenous peoples had for generations been harvesting ‘sugarbag’ honey, a valuable form of bush tucker from the nest of native stingless bees. In
Myth-busting bees! Bees – and particularly honey bees – have featured in the folklore of just about every human culture since ancient times. From the San people of the Kalahari Desert, who told of a bee being instrumental in the
Pushing out some Zs! Every hard-working animal deserves some rest, but do bees sleep? Perhaps it seems obvious that the answer is a resounding ‘yes’, but positive confirmation was not obtained until the 1980s, through the observations of researcher, Walter
Bees in Space. On 12 April 1961, Yuri Gagarin became the first human being in space, orbiting the earth in a 108-minute flight aboard his Vostok 1 spacecraft. The first ‘space bees’ had to wait until 1982 to blast off;
Monofloral Honeys Part 6: the Remarkable Rata. New Zealand is famed for producing perhaps the world’s best known monofloral honey, manuka honey, which is prized for its inherent curative properties. However, the manuka myrtle, Leptospermum scoparium, is endemic to both
