Tag Archive for 'Apis mellifera'

Vasas et al. show 3 male orange sulphurs (Colias eurytheme). These butterflies display strong angle-dependent UV iridescence on the dorsal side of their wings. The UV-iridescent portions appear more orange to the human observer than the otherwise yellow wings (see human-visible inset). The avian false color depiction (main image) is based on the coordinates of the receptor noise-limited (RNL) opponent space. Coordinates in this space represent differences in an animal’s photoreceptor responses, and the distances between the coordinates approximate the perceptual distances between the colors. The inset color key illustrates human-visible colors around the perimeter of a circle colored according to RNL coordinates, where UV colors start at the epicenter and mix with other colors. In this depiction, the UV-iridescent portions appear purple, because they most strongly reflect in the ultraviolet and the red part of the spectrum. The ventral part of the wings, visible when the animals are in their resting position, are depicted as gray-brown, just like the leaves, as they are close to the achromatic point. Image credit: Vasas et al., doi: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3002444.

Novel Camera System and Software Records Natural Animal-View Videos with Over 90% Accuracy

Jan 24, 2024 by News Staff

A new camera system and associated software package allows scientists to produce videos that accurately replicate the colors that different animals see...

Bee longevity, like any phenotypic expression, is the result of both environmental exposure and the bees’ genome. Image credit: Martin Tajmr.

Study: Caged Honeybees are Living Half as Long as Observed 50 Years Ago

Nov 14, 2022 by News Staff

In a new study published today in the journal Scientific Reports, a duo of researchers at the University of Maryland found that the median lifespan of...

The western honeybee (Apis mellifera). Image credit: David Hablützel.

New Zealand Honeydew Honey Has Excellent Antioxidant Properties, Study Shows

Jun 8, 2022 by Sergio Prostak

A team of researchers at the Auckland University of Technology has profiled the chemical composition of New Zealand honeydew honey and compared its antioxidant...

Until now odd and even categorization, also called parity classification, had never been shown in non-human animals; Howard et al. show honeybees (Apis mellifera) can learn to do this. Image credit: xiSerge.

Honeybees Demonstrate Ability to Learn Concepts of Odd and Even

May 2, 2022 by The Conversation

New research shows that honeybees (Apis mellifera) can visually acquire the capacity to differentiate between odd and even quantities of 1-10 geometric...

Western honeybees (Apis mellifera). Image credit: PollyDot.

Western Honeybees May Have Originated in Asia, New Study Says

Dec 3, 2021 by News Staff

The origin of the western honeybee (Apis mellifera) has been intensely debated. Addressing this knowledge gap is essential for understanding the evolution...

Apis mellifera ligustica. Image credit: Scaccabarozzi et al., doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0253838.

Angry Bees Produce Richer, More Protein-Dense Venom, Study Finds

Aug 16, 2021 by News Staff

Chemists have analyzed protein diversity in venom produced by Apis mellifera ligustica in the marri (Corymbia calophylla) ecosystem in southern-western...

Honeybees begin constructing honeycombs in multiple locations, which they will eventually bridge together. Image credit: Michael Smith / Cornell University.

Honeybees are Skilled Architects, New Research Confirms

Jul 27, 2021 by News Staff

Honeybees (Apis mellifera) are renowned for constructing perfect hexagonal honeycombs, hailed as the pinnacle of biological architecture for its ability...

A guard bee standing next to the entrance hole of the Frieseomelitta varia colony. Image credit: Bibafu / CC BY-SA 3.0.

Scientists Sequence Genome of Brazilian Stingless Bee

Sep 1, 2020 by Enrico de Lazaro

A team of researchers from Brazil has sequenced the nuclear and mitochondrial genomes of Frieseomelitta varia, a stingless bee that has, as a peculiarity,...

A ‘super’ Cape honeybee worker (black in center) is nearly as big as a queen (with white disc). Image credit: Benjamin Oldroyd, University of Sydney.

Study: Single Gene Causes ‘Virgin Births’ in Cape Honeybees

May 8, 2020 by News Staff

A protein-coding gene called GB45239 is responsible for thelytokous parthenogenesis — the ability to produce daughters asexually — in the Cape...

A honeybee (Apis mellifera). Image credit: Vijaya Narasimha.

New Study Reveals Link between Bee and Human Brains

Mar 2, 2020 by Natali Anderson

A team of researchers from New Zealand and Germany has demonstrated that the honeybee brain generates oscillations which share characteristics of ‘alpha’...

A honeybee fallen on a water surface creates a wave and hydrofoils atop it. Image credit: Roh & Gharib, Caltech.

Honeybees Use Their Wings as Hydrofoils to Maneuver on Water Surface, Study Shows

Nov 19, 2019 by News Staff

Honeybees (Apis mellifera) trapped on a water surface use their wetted wings as hydrofoils for their water surface propulsion, according to a paper published...

Honeybees are Even Better Mathematicians than We Thought

Oct 11, 2019 by News Staff

Humans have a threshold limit for instantly processing one to four elements accurately; and it seems that our species is not alone, says a team of scientists...

Study Provides New Insights into Honeybee ‘Waggle Dance’ Communication

Aug 29, 2019 by News Staff

According to a study published in the journal eNeuro (bioRxiv.org preprint), changes in vibration-sensitive neurons may equip forager honeybees for waggle...

Hyun-Jin An et al found that bee venom and melittin possess potent anti-atopic activities. Image credit: Charles J. Sharp / CC BY-SA 3.0.

Researchers Testing New Honeybee Sting Vaccine

Jul 22, 2019 by News Staff

A research team led by Flinders University’s Professor Nikolai Petrovsky has completed a human clinical trial on an adjuvant vaccine designed to eliminate...

Honeybees May Be Capable of Connecting Symbols to Numbers, Says New Study

Jun 5, 2019 by News Staff

A team of scientists from RMIT University, Monash University and the University of Toulouse III has trained honeybees (Apis mellifera) to match a character...

Howard et al show that honeybees can learn to use blue and yellow as symbolic representations for addition or subtraction. In a free-flying environment, individual bees used this information to solve unfamiliar problems involving adding or subtracting one element from a group of elements. Image credit: Ralph.

Study: Honeybees Can Do Basic Arithmetic

Feb 7, 2019 by News Staff

A new study published in the journal Science Advances shows that honeybees (Apis mellifera), with a miniature brain, can be taught to recognize colors...

In this electron micrograph, Varroa destructor (arrow) is wedged between the abdominal plates of a honey bee’s exoskeleton. Image credit: UMD / USDA / PNAS.

Varroa Mites Feed Primarily on Honeybee Fat Body Tissues, Not Hemolymph

Jan 15, 2019 by News Staff

A parasite called the varroa mite (Varroa destructor) is the most serious pest of European honeybees (Apis mellifera) worldwide. For decades, scientists...

Bees can solve seemingly clever counting tasks with very small numbers of neurons in their brains. Image credit: PollyDot.

Bees Can Solve Counting Tasks with Just Four Neurons, New Study Shows

Dec 25, 2018 by News Staff

Bees can count up to four or five items, can choose the smaller or the larger number from a group and even choose ‘zero’ against other numbers when...

The structure of royalactin (left) and regina (right) proteins. Image credit: Wan et al, doi: 10.1038/s41467-018-06256-4.

Mammalian Analog of Honeybee Royal Jelly Protein Keeps Embryonic Stem Cells Youthful

Dec 6, 2018 by News Staff

A mammalian protein similar in structure to the active component of royal jelly — the queen-maker for the honeybee (Apis mellifera) — functions...

Acoustic monitoring of bee flight buzzes during the eclipse revealed an overall cessation of flight activity during totality. Image credit: Kevin McIver.

Bees Go Silent during Total Solar Eclipses, New Research Shows

Oct 11, 2018 by News Staff

The total solar eclipse of 21 August 2017 traversed 5,000 km from coast to coast of North America. In its 90-min span, sunlight dropped by three orders...