USDA accelerates plan to close its flagship scientific campus

Agency says closing the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center will improve efficiency, but skeptics argue it will undercut research critical to farmers

science.org

Tropical Bee Assemblage Diversity Decreases With Elevation While Body Size Increases

Photos of bee specimens collected in the Colombian Andes across a nearly 3000 m elevational cline. They are arranged to illustrate both the decline in richness with elevation and the increase in comm...

onlinelibrary.wiley.com

Meet three scientists who said no to Epstein

The warning signs included a web search, a mother’s doubts, and inklings of a “sexist attitude”

science.org

Overcoming barriers that limit the impact of ecological research

Ecology and conservation researchers have diverse goals that often include both personal career aspirations and desires to enhance the well-being of the natural world and its inhabitants. Perception ....

esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com

The bee bread of honey bees is characterized by a core microbiota despite the application of miticide treatments and variation across space and time

Background Bee bread is composed of a mixture of pollen and nectar used as the main source of proteins and lipids for the development of bee larvae. Despite its important role in honey bee food preser...

peerj.com

From the Lab to the Legislature and Living Room: Science Needs Storytellers

Keynote speakers on the opening day of Entomology 2025 emphasized the importance of communication and collaboration in advancing both science and the public understanding of how science affects their…

entomologytoday.org

She Studied How Logging Affects Pollinators

nytimes.com

Postdoctoral Fellowship - Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior

eeb.msu.edu

Navigating A Government Shutdown: One-Stop Resource Page

As of 12:01 AM on October 1, Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress have shut down the government.

raskin.house.gov

Modeling the effects of stress and premature hive exiting behavior on honey bee (Apis mellifera) colony survival - Apidologie

Honey bees have a complex social structure, with many factors affecting colony survival. Mathematical models are therefore valuable for understanding how individual variables affect honey bee colony dynamics. Previous honey bee population models have shown that accelerated aging due to stress can lead to colony decline. Our previous work showed that general developmental stress causes a previously undocumented behavior whereby very young workers exit the colony before they can fly, leading them to die prematurely on the ground outside the hive. In this study, we modeled the effects of this premature hive exiting behavior on colony survival. We used parameters from previous studies to inform our model and incorporated empirical data regarding the rate of premature hive exiting behavior driven by various developmental stressors. An equation to link premature exit with accelerated aging was also introduced to mirror population dynamics across different worker age groups. We found that higher rates of premature hive exiting behavior can accelerate colony collapse. A feeding variable (provisioning colonies with extra sugar syrup) and a brood break variable (preventing the queen from laying eggs for a given time period to decrease Varroa mite levels) were added to the model to examine ways to counteract the negative effects of premature hive exiting behavior and to assess their effectiveness at regulating the progression of worker aging. Our results suggest that both supplemental feeding and implementing brood breaks can bring a colony back from the brink of collapse.

link.springer.com

Past, present, and future of SSR molecular markers in bee studies - Apidologie

Understanding bees, with their extensive morphological, phylogenetic, and behavioral diversity and their significant economic and ecological roles, requires integrating classical and modern scientific methods. Microsatellite (SSR—Simple Sequence Repeat) markers are a low-cost tool useful for various investigations at individual, colony, population, and species levels. However, a comprehensive review on the applications, trends, and Limitations of molecular markers in bee studies is lacking. We aimed to systematize the knowledge about microsatellite markers in bee research, characterize research trends, discuss their applications, and present their advantages and Limitations to address major knowledge gaps across various research themes. Additionally, we aimed to establish a preliminary database of microsatellite primers and their transferability across related species. We conducted a systematic review of research articles on microsatellites and bees published until 2023. Our review included 576 articles from all biogeographical realms, which covered 173 species from 19 families. Apidae (94.1%) and Halictidae (3.4%) were the most frequent bee families in studies, with a strong dominance of Apis and Bombus species, followed by Meliponini species. Future research should include more solitary species and additional species from underrepresented tribes. The reviewed articles spanned 11 research themes, ranging from basic bee biology to applied and multi-disciplinary research, with reproduction, conservation, behavior, evolution, breeding, and beekeeping being the most frequent themes. Microsatellite markers are a suitable choice for most research themes and show a promising trend for continued use in future bee studies.

link.springer.com

Petition to NSF to Restore Eligibility for the 2026 Graduate Research Fellowship Program Competition

laurenkuehne.github.io

Assessing the status of sundial lupine (Lupinus perennis L.) genetic diversity and population structure throughout its distribution

Habitat loss threatens plant genetic diversity, with consequences for species survival and ecosystem health. This study describes the genetic diversity, st

academic.oup.com