Research on bees in the winter appears in the media
‘Exotic flowers help bees stay busy in winter’
Physorg.com
School of Biological and Chemical Sciences: Dr Thomas Ings
Scientists are starting to discover why there has been an increase in the number of bees about in the winter months. One species, the buff-tailed bumblebee, Bombus terrestris, is foraging from various exotic winter-flowering plants around the gardens and parks in Britain. The study by researchers at Queen Mary, led by Dr Ings, found that a new generation of young workers has been raised in this species. “All of the UK's bumblebee species normally die out in the autumn leaving only their new queens to survive the cold in hibernation. However, this research points to a major new change in the behaviour of the British buff-tailed bumblebee,” said Dr Ings.
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