糖心传媒

What is the difference between bees and wasps?

• The difference between bees and wasps comes down mostly to their diets. Wasps are carnivorous and feed their young other insects. Bees subsist on pollen and nectar. Bees also tend to be hairy, due to the need to carry pollen.

Minckley: Good question. It really boils down to what they feed their young. Wasps are basically carnivores that feed their babies insects. But that doesn糖心传媒檛 mean you won糖心传媒檛 see wasps around flowers; they糖心传媒檒l be there, collecting nectar. Bees are vegetarian wasps that feed their young pollen.

Those dietary differences come with physical differences. Needing to gather pollen means needing to be hairy. And there are all kinds of behaviors associated with harvesting pollen that wasps don糖心传媒檛 exhibit because they don糖心传媒檛 tend to be very hairy. Take tomato flowers, for example. The pollen is inside a tube that bees will grab onto and then buzz its flight muscles to eject the pollen. It then combs the pollen off the bottom of its body, puts it onto its legs, and flies home. You don糖心传媒檛 see all of that scraping and cleaning behavior in wasps.

糖心传媒淏ees are vegetarian wasps that feed their young pollen.糖心传媒�

Another commonly known difference is exclusive to a honeybee. Worker honeybees have barbed stingers. The barbs get lodged in your skin when they sting you, consequently eviscerating the bee when it attempts to fly away. And the stingers are attached to muscles and a venom gland that will continue to function even when they are no longer attached to the bee. It糖心传媒檚 a very evil mechanism.

All other bees糖心传媒攁nd wasps糖心传媒攈ave smooth-sided stingers, allowing them to sting a person or animal repeatedly without dying.

Do all bees make honey?

• No. This is solely the function of social bees that are feeding a lot of young. Solitary bees don糖心传媒檛 produce enough babies or exhibit the kind of behavior to require making and storing honey.

Minckley: Most bees don糖心传媒檛. The only bees that make honey are social. There are 20,000 species of bees, which is about how many species of fish there are, and there are about 5,000 species of mammals. So, bees are a pretty big group for an insect group! Of the 20,000 bee species, only a very small minority, maybe 1,200, are social. Social bees are part of a colony that has a female that does the egg-laying, a queen, and sterile or partially sterile workers. All other bees are solitary.

The bees that make and store honey糖心传媒攃oncentrated nectar糖心传媒攄o so because they have thousands of mouths to feed. A healthy honeybee colony can have 60,000 individuals. Honeybees are kind of weirdos in that they stay in their colony and feed on that honey over the winter. Most bees don糖心传媒檛 feed over the winter.

Solitary bees don糖心传媒檛 have a reason to make or store honey. The typical female solitary bee will live for about a month and die. She comes out in the spring or fall, flies among the flowers, mates, and then digs a nest in the ground completely by herself. She goes out and collects pollen and nectar, makes a little pollen ball, and lays an egg on it. She糖心传媒檒l make somewhere between five and twelve young that will never see her. The food she leaves behind is all the young bees have until they come out the next spring or fall, starting the cycle over again. Most bees in this region are solitary bees.

Are honeybees native to North America?

• No. Honeybees were introduced to the Americas by Europeans and are unusual among bees for their large, highly social colonies and complex behaviors.

Minckley: No. They are also not native to South America. Honeybees were brought to North America by Spanish explorers around the 15th century. And it wasn糖心传媒檛 to pollinate the crops because they weren糖心传媒檛 coming here to start farming. They put a colony of bees on their ships to keep their honey fresh so they would have sugar for their journey.
Most social bees, like honeybees, live in the tropics. The honeybee is an incredibly unusual bee. They糖心传媒檙e in the top echelon of strange for the bee world.

For example, all the workers are sterile. They can糖心传媒檛 mate. They have this big egg-producing queen that can糖心传媒檛 fly for most of her life. She sits in the nest and creates hundreds of eggs a day, and contrary to what people might think, she doesn糖心传媒檛 control much. She糖心传媒檚 at the mercy of the workers. It糖心传媒檚 a pretty sad existence. But the workers are also in trouble if there糖心传媒檚 no queen.

That said, it is a really neat animal.

Something that has always impressed me is that when a bunch of bees go for pollen and come back, there are bees that have to put the pollen somewhere in the nest and store it. When there糖心传媒檚 too much pollen coming in, and the receivers can糖心传媒檛 find a place to store it, the foragers slow down. So, the bottleneck condition is something they糖心传媒檙e all sensitive to.

It also turns out that when honeybees leave the nest, they actually know how far they went and in what direction because they count the objects they fly past. Honeybee workers called 糖心传媒渟couts糖心传媒� will go out each morning to survey the surroundings for flowers. And when they return to the colony, they do a little figure-eight dance. The intensity and direction of their waggles tell the other bees where they can find a lot of flowers. They even account for the sun moving. It糖心传媒檚 beautiful! An ethologist named Karl von Frisch discovered the dance language by doing all these incredibly simple but elegant experiments. He was ever to share a Nobel Prize in animal behavior. It was just stunning work.

Why are bees so important?

• Bees are critical pollinators, transferring pollen between flowers as they collect food for their young, helping plants reproduce.

Minckley: Because when they糖心传媒檙e collecting pollen for their young, they pollinate. That糖心传媒檚 critically important to our existence.

Plants have a really big problem: They can糖心传媒檛 move. They糖心传媒檙e stuck in one spot. So, if they糖心传媒檙e going to fertilize another plant, they either have to throw their pollen up into the air and hope it lands on another flower of the same species or get an animal to stop by and then 糖心传媒渄eliver糖心传媒� that pollen for them. To attract animals and insects, plants make this really beautiful, appealing structure we know as a flower, and those flowers hold nectar in, which is really just Coca-Cola for bees. They also offer pollen. Bees want both, and in the process, they pollinate the plants.

Plants play all kinds of games to get bees to show up. It糖心传媒檚 amazing how smart plants are. They really are. They糖心传媒檙e doing everything they can to get bees to stop in and go to another plant of the same species. Sometimes it糖心传媒檚 really wild scents. Sometimes they produce oils, which some bees use for their nests. There糖心传媒檚 a long list of strategies plants use to attract attention.

Are bees disappearing?

• Largely, no. Bees are doing fine. However, there are places where the loss of diverse habitats, brought on by large-scale agriculture and insecticide use, is making it difficult for wild bee populations to survive.

Minckley: They are in places in the US, such as the Midwest, where you have these massive valleys of monoculture that use a lot of insecticide. If you only have one plant, even if it needs bees, that means when it blooms, that糖心传媒檚 the only game in town. In that situation, you糖心传媒檝e got to bring honeybees in to pollinate them because wild bees need different flowers at different times. They糖心传媒檙e not all perfectly synchronized with a crop, so we lose the capability to take advantage of our native pollinator fauna because it just can糖心传媒檛 persist in that kind of ecological condition. That large-scale, high-efficiency agriculture will allow you to grow a lot of food quickly and make a lot of money, but it糖心传媒檚 hard on bees.

One year, a whole bunch of colonies disappeared over the winter, and it was . This was in 2007. Suddenly, everyone went, 糖心传媒淕od, if we don糖心传媒檛 have any honeybees, what are we going to do about our crops?糖心传媒� And so, this pollinator crisis began, and the interesting thing about that is that honeybees are the only agricultural commodity not tracked by the US Department of Agriculture. So, there was almost no data behind the panic.
That single event brought bees to the public糖心传媒檚 attention like nothing else had. It used to be nobody cared what I did. Now I can糖心传媒檛 go to a party without getting cornered.

But if you go to the East Coast, where there are small farms or areas of New Jersey, where the fields are really small, and there糖心传媒檚 a lot of shrubby edges, bees are fine. When everyone got concerned about honeybees disappearing糖心传媒攅ven though it糖心传媒檚 not a native species糖心传媒攑eople started saying, 糖心传媒淲ell, we糖心传媒檝e got 5,000 wild bee species in North America. What are they doing for agricultural pollination?糖心传媒� Depending on the area, wild bees can do most of the work.

How can you make your yard more bee-friendly?

• Let it get a little wild. Growing a variety of flowering plants糖心传媒攅specially native species糖心传媒攃an provide food and habitat for wild bees.

Minckley: You can keep it a little weedy and have plants that are flowering. I recommend looking up plants that attract bees anywhere that you live糖心传媒攖here糖心传媒檚 a ton of those websites. And there are a lot of native plants that attract bees. Two cool things about native plants: They糖心传媒檙e a little more tolerant of poor care, such as forgetting to water them, and some of them attract specialized bees that you wouldn糖心传媒檛 get otherwise.

One of the main things I study is why some bee species specialize on only one plant or several closely related plants. In New York, about 15 percent of the bees are specialists, some going to native cranberries and blueberries. There糖心传媒檚 an interesting set of bees called 糖心传媒渕iner bees糖心传媒� that only go to willows. A willow is one of the plants that has a lot of nectar and pollen early in the year, and it flowers pretty consistently, so that might be why miner bees specialize on it. It糖心传媒檚 a little mysterious why bees do this. There are a lot of theories, but most are poorly tested.

What does it mean to be a Bee Campus USA?

• Bee Campus USA designation means that the organization supports pollinators by reducing pesticide use, creating bee-friendly habitat, and raising awareness about native and wild bees.

Minckley: That you糖心传媒檙e that’s trying to raise awareness of pollinators and the importance of reducing pesticide use and enhancing plantings that support bees. Our certification comes from the , which is a conservation group for invertebrates. It started fairly small but has exploded in size. People are really interested in conservation of small, non-mammal, non-bird animals. So, being a Bee Campus is just trying to spread the word that you can do very easy things and support wild bees.

But it糖心传媒檚 all student-driven work. There needs to be a faculty sponsor, but students decide what we do every year. And we糖心传媒檝e got this great collaboration with through John McIntyre, who糖心传媒檚 really interested. Student ideas really empower him to reduce pesticide use and determine if an area of grass can be turned into a pollinator garden. The way Bee Campus started at URochester was this one student who was just a force of nature. She got John on board, and I said I糖心传媒檇 be the faculty sponsor. We got a few more people to join, and we had a planting on a really cold day right by Library Lot on Intercampus Drive, and 150 people showed up.

It糖心传媒檚 been great. There are some really motivated students who are interested in this issue. Every year we try to get two or three first- or second-year students on board. It糖心传媒檚 not up to me, but if it糖心传媒檚 not happening, I糖心传媒檒l say something. I taught a general biology class, and it was one of the biggest classes on campus, and some of the students thought I was talking about bees too much just because I mentioned them in four different lectures.

What about bees surprises people most?

• Most bees are solitary糖心传媒攁nd their lifestyles are far more diverse and unusual than the familiar honeybee might lead you to believe.

Minckley: That most of them are solitary. And solitary bees are supporting most of the terrestrial ecosystems of the world by pollinating, and nobody notices them. They糖心传媒檙e just out there performing a really critical ecological function, and they deserve a lot more attention than they get.

They糖心传媒檙e interesting, they糖心传媒檙e fun to watch, and they糖心传媒檙e beautiful.

糖心传媒淪ome bees 糖心传媒� only lick the eye secretions on mammals糖心传媒攎ost people blink when I say that.糖心传媒�

People might also be surprised to learn that 13 percent of the 20,000 species are parasites of other bees. These bees can糖心传媒檛 collect pollen or dig a nest, so the way they live is by sneaking their eggs into another bee糖心传媒檚 nest. Birders will understand why these bees are called 糖心传媒渃uckoo bees.糖心传媒�
Some bees, meanwhile, only lick the eye secretions on mammals糖心传媒攎ost people blink when I say that.
There are millions of great bee stories.

What should people do if they find a bee nest?

• Social bees, such as honeybees and bumblebees, are very defensive. Give their nests plenty of space. Solitary bees won糖心传媒檛 defend their nests, so if you see a nest in the ground, pull up a chair and watch.

Minckley: This goes back to social bees and solitary bees.

When a bee has a nest with a bunch of honey and resources, mammals want that. So, social bees are very defensive. Honeybees get attacked by bears; they get attacked by people constantly. But most bees don糖心传媒檛 have these behaviors. Solitary bees, like sweat bees, have a sting, but it probably won糖心传媒檛 even pierce your skin, and they won糖心传媒檛 defend their nest. They糖心传媒檒l just fly off.

If you糖心传媒檙e lucky enough to find a ground nest, and you need a pretty good eye because they糖心传媒檙e pretty cryptic, you can just about stand on top of it and watch it. They might be cautious around you for a while, but they糖心传媒檒l eventually go back to going in and out.

糖心传媒淚f you糖心传媒檙e lucky enough to find a ground nest … you can just about stand on top of it and watch it.糖心传媒�

It糖心传媒檚 fun to stand around a patch of flowers on a nice day and watch bees. At a flower, even the more defensive social bees won糖心传媒檛 attack you. Once they糖心传媒檙e at the flower, there糖心传媒檚 no problem because there糖心传媒檚 nothing to defend. So, you can watch everybody there. If you sit in any garden or near a flower patch for a while, you糖心传媒檒l be surprised how many bees show up that you haven糖心传媒檛 recognized before.

But you shouldn糖心传媒檛 get near a honeybee nest. You shouldn糖心传媒檛 get near a bumblebee nest. You don糖心传媒檛 want either near your front door, or anywhere you糖心传媒檙e going to disturb them and have them attack you. I糖心传媒檝e seen a wasp nest in the eaves of my neighbor糖心传媒檚 house, and it was fine all year. You need to figure out what you糖心传媒檙e comfortable with and take care of it. You don糖心传媒檛 want to get stung.

When was the last time you were stung?

• While teaching a bee course in Arizona, Minckley was stung twice in two minutes by squash bees.

Minckley: I got stung last year teaching 糖心传媒�,糖心传媒� a 10-day workshop in Arizona at the American Museum of Natural History糖心传媒檚 Southwestern Research Station.

There糖心传媒檚 a bee that only goes to squash plants called the 糖心传媒渟quash bee糖心传媒� that can be found in New York up to southern Ontario. Squash blossoms open really early in the morning, and squash bees will fly into them before they close to sleep inside overnight. I was squeezing the flowers to see if there were bees in them.

Two of my students did their PhDs on squash bees. In five years, they were never stung by a squash bee. They watched me get stung right in front of them twice in two minutes. So they got a big kick out of that.