Honey bees, which pollinate many valuable crops, are threatened by parasites, pesticides and development. But selective breeding, more benign pesticides and better nutrition could help turn the tide.
Scott Turner, State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry
They’re the soil-builders that allow Africa’s arid savannas to be lush grasslands. What do they do inside their huge mounds – and how does a collective mind allow them to do it?
Evolution is often perceived as being a “directional” or “adaptive” process. We often think of species evolving to become stronger or faster, or to have sharper teeth, for example. And we tend to see this…
To most people pest management brings up images of rats, cockroaches and chemical spraying. Poisoning vermin and insect is only one minor, albeit important, aspect of pest management. Few people know about…
Some natural phenomena are so familiar to us that they feature in our lives and culture, yet we know precious little about them. Sometimes we don’t even know how little we know. Take the subject of our…
Invertebrates are all around us – crawling, squirming and buzzing about their business. From forests canopies to ocean depths, they form about 80% of the known species on Earth. By virtue of their sheer…