BEES ON THE BRINK OF DYING : Discovery News

N'aan Harp - Friends of Honeybees

Founder and President of Friends of Honeybees, N’ann Harp, has had a lifelong affinity for honeybees. That affinity continued through her years as a professional horticulturist, greenhouse operator and community garden activist. Find out more about N'aan's efforts here.

George Langworthy/Maryam Henein - Filmmakers

George Langworthy and Maryam Henein are producers of the documentary film "Vanishing of the Bees." The film explores the struggles that two friends face as they launch a quest to protect their honeybees. Find out more about the film here.

The Buzz on Bees: Quiz

Why do bees always hover precisely half an inch? Where do healthy bees live? How do bees communicate? Take the quiz now.

Beekeepers Battle 'Perfect Storm'

Honeybees are still in the throes of a "perfect storm" of viruses, mites and more, but beekeepers are fighting back.

Are Cell Phone Towers Honey Bees' Next Big Threat?

As if honey bees didn't have enough to worry about: A recent study identifies new cell phone towers as the cause of rapid population drops in some areas.

Save the Bees, Urges U.N.

Bee declines range up to 85 percent in some areas and have prompted alarm from the United Nations.

Beehackers Bring Cheap Widgets to a 19th-Century Craft

Beekeeping engineers want to use sensors, microphones and microcontrollers to monitor beehive health.

Super-Sniffing Bees Combat Colony Pest

A new population of honeybees is designed to root out a parasite that is a main culprit in a bee die-off.

Bees Can Say 'Stop'

The finding shows that bee colonies behave more like giant, single beasts than as individual insects.

Bumblebees Have Supersonic Color Vision

Bees' color vision clocks in as the fastest in the animal world.

Bees Always Have a Safe Landing

Find out why bees never crash land, and how their technique could help engineers design new aircraft.

The Case of the Disappearing Bees

North American bumble bees are in trouble. The first large-scale study of bee population numbers and distribution in the U.S. brings bad news for vegetable farmers. Not to mention the balance of nature.

Honey Bees Disappearing: Still A Problem

Surveys of our nation's beekeepers suggest that at least as many bee colonies have died off over the winter as they have the last few years.

Bees Build Gorgeous Underground Flower-Petal Nests

With a flair for the colorful, this bee species makes a "petal sandwich" out of two layers flower petals.

Bee My Friend? Depends on Your Face

Bees can be trained to sniff out explosives and cocaine, and here's something else they can be trained to do: tell apart one human face from another.

India Facing Crop Shortage as Pollinators Disappear

India's pollinators are dwindling and its supply of nutritious vegetables like eggplant, squashes, and cucumbers, may be in jeopardy.

Earliest Beehives Discovered in Ancient Israel

Throughout the bible, Israel is described as “the land of milk and honey.” A few documents and paintings hint that beekeeping may have occurred during biblical times, there has been no physical evidence – until now.

An Island of Honeybees in the African Desert

A unique population of honeybees isolated for perhaps the last 10,000 years has been found living at an oasis in the northern Sahara Desert.

Tiny Insect Brains Solve Big Problems

Insects may have tiny brains, but they can perform some seriously impressive feats of mental gymnastics.

Artificial Bee Eye Gives Insect's View

Researchers at Bielefeld University in Germany developed a light-weight imaging system that mimics a honeybee's point of view.

Sex Life May Hold Key to Honeybee Survival

The researchers are working on the theory that the reason some colonies are wiped out while others remain healthy could be down the genetic diversities of the hives.

Bee Venom Can Improve Brain Function

It sounds like witch doctor medicine, but an injection of bee venom can improve brain function.

Flight of the Bumblebee: Inefficient But Precise

Scientists have taken a close look at the way bumblebees fly, and the video footage isn't pretty.

Roadsides Helping Bees Thrive

Roadsides may seem like the crummiest real estate around, but new research suggests that in fact they could serve as nature preserves for crucial pollinators, particularly native bees.

Bee Prefers Sex With Orchid Over Females

One orchid is so attractive to male bees that the males actually prefer sex with the orchid over sex with female bees of their own species.

Honeybees Don't Fall for Cheap Perfume

Fragrant spring flowers and floral perfumes are possible thanks to the discriminating scent sense of honeybees.

Honey Bee Killer Hunted [VIDEO]

Honey bees are under attack by something nasty and mysterious; researchers are hunting it down.

How Bees Work

Present in everything from creation myths to royal regalia in multiple cultures around the world, bees are a source of fascination ... and a little fear. Find out how they fly, talk, pollinate plants and make honey.

The Difference Between Bees and Wasps

Wasps and bees are different, yes. But how can we distinguish? Here's a hint: The bee's the one near the flowers. The wasp's the one buzzing around your turkey sandwich.

Do Honeybees Hold the Secret for Faster Web Servers?

When bees are buzzing busily around a hive, it seems like absolute chaos. But there's a method to the madness: a dance called the waggle. And some scientists are applying the step to create faster Web servers.

How Colony Collapse Disorder Works

A mysterious condition called Colony Collapse Disorder affects beehives, causing some bee populations to vanish. The jury's still out on the root cause, but there are some solid theories for what's going on.

Colony Collapse Disorder and the Epic Fight to Save the Bees

TreeHugger's bee expert takes a deep look at Colony Collapse Disorder, charting it from the first discovery, burgeoning activism, continued research, and near misses at finding a solution

Honeybee Mystery Solved? Not Quite, Say Bee Experts

Some scientists thought they have have solved the mystery of Colony Collapse Disorder but further research puts their claims in question.

New Honeybee Breed Key to Combating Colony

The varroa mite is the prime suspect in the Colony Collapse Disorder mystery. Is it possible that a mite resistant stain of bees could solve the problem?

Bees Never Forget a Face

Scientific research has indicated that honey bees may actually be able to identify and distinguish between human faces.

Bees Equipped With Microchips Help Explain Hive

There have been a lot of theories, but scientists still struggle with explaining the cause of Colony Collapse Disorder. Microchips may capture the missing data.