A bacterial infection called American foulbrood can destroy an entire colony:
The bees are having a rough go of it, and that's news bad for humans—we need bees to pollinate our crops. Now, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has given the green light to a biotech company to vaccinate honeybees against a fatal infectious disease, one of the major threats to these creatures.
Dalan Animal Health developed the vaccine, which recently received a conditional license from the USDA and is designed to protect honeybees against infections of American foulbrood. American foulbrood is a fatal disease caused by the bacteria Paenibacillus larvae; it can kill honeybees in the pre-pupal or pupal stage of their life cycle. The disease is spread through bacterial spores and can take down an entire colony.
[...] It would be a challenge to give shots to baby bees, so a dead version of the bacteria will be added to the food eaten by worker bees. Those bees then pass the vaccine into royal jelly, a milky secretion that is fed to the colony's queen. From there, the vaccine will transfer to the queen's ovaries, granting immunity to developing larvae.
(Score: 2) by mcgrew on Saturday January 07, @03:05PM (3 children)
Europeans brought honeybees, as well as other fauna and flora, to the Americas. Honeybees are not native to anywhere but Europe, and they're not the only pollinators here. Butterflies (although they are adapted to their own species of plants), bumblebees... But it's possible (any agronomists here today?) that honeybees are genetically adapted to the European crops that are grown worldwide, but corn, potatoes, pecans, and other foods are native to the Americas and became invasive species in Europe.
Now, honeybee decline may be a problem in Europe, but I don't see it as a worldwide problem.
Carbon, The only element in the known universe to ever gain sentience
(Score: 4, Touché) by Opportunist on Saturday January 07, @08:19PM (1 child)
Provided, of course, you don't plan to plant any crops that originate in Europe that need bees as pollinators...
(Score: 2) by mcgrew on Sunday January 08, @02:10AM
Yes, as I said in the comment.
Carbon, The only element in the known universe to ever gain sentience
(Score: 2) by inertnet on Saturday January 07, @11:01PM
Honey bees were brought to America in the 17th century, but America does have native bees [bugguide.net]. Another invasive species in America is the aggressive African killer bee [wikipedia.org].
(Score: 2, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 07, @05:19PM (12 children)
We have a flowering bush called Rose of Sharon which has many good sized flowers with large pollen coated centers. The leaves are attractive to Japanese beetles (alien to USA) and I try to kill as many as I can (drown in soapy water). While I'm at the RoS killing the leaf eaters, various kinds of bees are all over the flowers, so I started watching them (and also giving plenty of room, don't want to be stung!)
The bees, in particular the larger "bumblebee" types, will crawl around in the pollen and roll in it, fall off and land against the flower petals, climb back on and fall off again, very silly bees! It really looks like they are drunk or high, they seem to stay inside a flower much longer than necessary to get themselves coated with pollen.
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 07, @05:26PM (6 children)
https://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/bumblebee-balls-play-study-1.6639406 [www.cbc.ca]
(Score: 2) by Opportunist on Saturday January 07, @08:24PM (2 children)
Other researchers found out that giving bumblebees large wooden balls has the opposite effect. They get moved about only once but never show any interest in that ball again afterwards. They also do not show any interest in the tiny balls anymore.
Size does matter for these bumblebees, it seems. More research is necessary. But we first need a new batch of bumblebees.
(Score: 2) by Immerman on Sunday January 08, @02:35AM (1 child)
Heh... makes me think of coloring books as a child. I loved them, and eventually I got a large, intricate dinosaur coloring-poster that I worked on for ages, but never did finish. And 30-ish years later I've still barely touched coloring books since.
Kinda like "Bigger is better" meets "Too big" and "Why would I want to go back?" to kill all interest.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday January 08, @01:17PM
Socialism? Why won't the stupid bee want to push the stupid ball around for our entertainment forever?!!
(Score: 2) by Gaaark on Saturday January 07, @11:36PM
It's because "B's" and "Ho's" love playin' with balls?
Oh no, i di'int! ;)
--- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
(Score: 2) by Immerman on Sunday January 08, @01:54AM (1 child)
Yeah. And looking at pictures I'd imagine a Rose of Sharon (hibiscus?) flower would be kind of like a bouncy castle for a big old bumble bee. Much more fun than squeezing into a big "fluffy" flower, or perching on the (to them) little "landing pad" of most "flat" flowers.
Still, I absolutely wouldn't put it past evolution to imbue some nectar with a sort of fast-acting intoxicant to encourage bees to hang out and play in the pollen. Pollen lodged deep in the fuzz is pollen that might still be there to fertilize a flower on the opposite side of the forest. It would probably have to wear off quickly too though - bees lost to a drunken hit-and-swallow hunting incident are just a waste of good pollen.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday January 08, @01:19PM
It's nature's bukkake.
(Score: 2) by Barenflimski on Sunday January 08, @12:47AM (4 children)
Stand back so you don't get stung? What on earth are you smoking. Bees and wasps don't hunt people down to sting them. They sting you when you bug them, step on them, grab them.
Me and my kin pet bees, just as an example. Not once has that initiated a hive reaction to overwhelm us with bee stingers.
The number of totally ridiculous old wives tales must number in the infinities. They are all that, just stories.
Here's hoping people get outside more often this year! Cheers!
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Immerman on Sunday January 08, @02:28AM (3 children)
I've got to agree with G.P.
Even one sting isn't fun. And giving them room is different than standing back.
And while I hang with bees, and was introduced to bee-petting by my grandpa as a toddler, I'm still cautious when working alongside them on something unrelated.
Most species aren't particularly aggressive - but they're still wild animals, extremely alien ones at that, and what scares or angers them isn't necessarily always going to make sense to us. But large, fast movements from someone working very close by are a completely understandable trigger - lots of things the size of your hand try to eat them.
If I'm working close to bees, I'm going to give them enough space to not feel threatened by my movements, not reach to do something a few inches from where they're working. Especially not at "I'm trying to get work done here" speeds.
Partly to avoid my own needless suffering, kinda like not imposing on a skunk's personal space (if they want to introduce themselves, that's different). And a partly out of the same sort of courtesy that keeps me from walking close behind a woman on an otherwise empty street. They don't know me or my motives, and I have nothing to gain by getting close enough to force them to constantly reevaluate me as a potential immediate threat.
(Score: 2) by Barenflimski on Sunday January 08, @04:15AM (2 children)
Fascinating. I've never cared one bit about getting stung by a bee. Does it sting for a few minutes? Sure. Does it go away quick? Yup.
It takes years if not decades to get rid of the pain caused by the people I've worked with over the years.
I never thought once about it. And, I've never been stung in my garden, petting bees, or up in their flowers taking pictures. Wild world you all live in.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday January 08, @10:48PM
GP here,
> Does it go away quick? Yup.
+ Nope, not for me, swollen and sharp pain for days after I accidentally stepped on a bee (barefoot) as a kid. The kind of bee that leaves its stinger in you. No point in repeating that sting--not good for me or the bee!
+ Similar several-day-painful-reaction last summer when I was watering some plants at dusk...and didn't see that I was watering a ground-nest of some kind of wasp/yellow-jacket (no stinger in me).
As noted, I just give the bees room. When I'm hunting Japanese beetles and a bee shows up, I move over a foot or two (half meter) and continue my hunting there.
Had not heard of petting bees, not sure I'm ready to try that (nearing 70 years old), but it's nice that you were taught that early in life.
(Score: 2) by Immerman on Monday January 09, @03:28PM
I think a lot depends on the bee.
I've had stings that smarted for a minute or two, and stings that hurt for the rest of the day. Overall, I think I'd rather be punched.
I've never been stung when actively interacting with bees, but when I'm doing that I'm also being calm and gentle and listening to their opinion - e.g. I'm not going to try to pet a bee that's obviously not into it.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Beryllium Sphere (r) on Saturday January 07, @06:14PM (3 children)
OK, certainly not the first oral vaccine in history, but I wonder why it works.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by cykros on Sunday January 08, @10:43AM (2 children)
Indeed -- especially as a bacterial vaccine, as historically vaccines have been primarily for virii, while bacteria get treated with antibiotics. I wonder if there's something special about bee digestion that comes up here -- they make honey by vomiting after all. IDK about you, but my vomit doesn't taste so good.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday January 08, @01:23PM (1 child)
Came here for this (certainly wouldn't go to TFA). Vaccine virus, bacteria antibiotic. Strange new world... or just dumb.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday January 08, @10:59PM
> Vaccine virus, bacteria antibiotic.
That's what I thought too. Seems like medical science isn't static (who would have guessed, eh?).
https://www.drugs.com/drug-class/bacterial-vaccines.html [drugs.com]
https://carrington.edu/blog/different-types-of-vaccines-2/ [carrington.edu]
Here's just one of many: