Building a Better Bee

Bees, like ants, are a specialized form of wasp. The ancestors of bees were wasps in the family Crabronidae, and therefore predators of other insects. The switch from insect prey to pollen may have resulted from the consumption of prey insects that were flower visitors and were partially covered with pollen when they were fed to the wasp larvae.

Bees are adapted for feeding on nectar and pollen, the former primarily as an energy source, and the latter primarily for protein and other nutrients. Most pollen is used as food for larvae. Bees play an important role in pollinating flowering plants, and are the major type of pollinator in ecosystems that contain flowering plants.

In early 2007, abnormally high die-offs (30-70% of hives) of European honey bee colonies occurred in the US and possibly Québec; such a decline seems unprecedented in recent history. This has been dubbed "Colony Collapse Disorder" (CCD).

This week, we look at research from UC Davis (go Aggies!) on building a better bee that may be resistant to CCD.

TTFN, Fred.

Quote of the week: "When a train goes through a tunnel and it gets dark, you don't throw away the ticket and jump off. You sit still and trust the engineer." - Corrie Ten Boom (a Dutch, Christian Holocaust survivor who helped many Jews escape the Nazis during World War II, 1892 - 1983)

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Building a Better Bee

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