The honeybee brain hosts over 600,000 neurons, at a density higher than that of mammalian brains:
"Our estimate of total brain cell number for the European honeybee (Apis mellifera;
≈ 6.13 × 10^5, s = 1.28 × 10^5; ...) was lower than the existing estimate from brain sections ≈ 8.5 × 10^5"
"the highest neuron densities have been found in the smallest respective species examined (smoky shrews in mammals; 2.08 × 10^5 neurons mg^−1 [14] and goldcrests in birds; 4.9 × 10^5 neurons mg^−1 [16]). The Hymenoptera in our sample have on average higher cell densities than vertebrates (5.94 × 10^5 cells mg^−1; n = 30 species)."
Ants, on the other hand ...
"ants stand out from bees and wasps as having particularly small brains by measures of mass and cell number."
Regarding nutrient and oxygen flow, would be interesting to compare the brains of a large bee like Xylocopa violacea (violet carpenter bee [1]) with that of a small bat like Craseonycteris thonglongyai (bumblebee bat [2]).
These two species are of about the same size (3-5 cm), yet one is an insect and the other is a mammal. Actually, the bee is larger than the bat! I wonder which one has more neurons.
The reproduction by cross-pollination of many species depends on wild bees. With them, the survival of certain species of animals is also threatened (such as certain birds, butterflies, bumblebees...).
The bee collects pollen and nectar from the flower. Some of this nectar (which is located on the stamen) gets stuck to the bee's hairs during transport to another flower. When she lands on the other flower, this nectar is deposited on the stigma, or pistil (female reproductive organs). It is thanks to this that fertilization is possible, and that seeds can develop.
Unfortunately, the number of pollinators is decreasing more and more, especially in industrialized countries. And yet, there are 45% more hives worldwide in the last 50 years. But too many pesticides, plants rich in nectar that are becoming increasingly rare, especially in urban areas, and many other factors contribute to the decline of pollinator species year after year.
Late for the UK- but since I'm home/not yet outdoors on a Sunday afternoon and just at the edge of the growing season, here's a post for #WildflowerHour ! Photos from last week, #FirstFlowers of the season: #Aspen -Populus tremuloides +Willow- one of our several native #Salix species. Bonus #pollinators non-native #honeybee on the Aspen- supposed to be wind pollinated! + one of several types of #flies seen on the Willows (along with honeybees) #Alberta#Spring#Canada#bees#florespondence
It’s #spring and the #flowers are blooming, which means that #Bees have got a good supply of food. They particularly seem to like the small flowers of the #Cotoneaster plant in the front #garden and throughout a #SunnyDay, there are always several dozen on it.
The video of bee activity post was interrupted by a lot of bee activity so I made a new video.
Saw lots of pollen going in, or trying to with the traffic jam there. I looked at the feeder earlier and they have hardly touched it today so I guess they have the hive back in order now after 6 days.
It’s a nice #SunnyDay outside and it really feels like spring. The #bees are busy making use of the #flowers, while the flowers are busy making use of the bees.
The wisteria smells wonderful, and the hum of the working bees is very pleasing. Too bad about the allergies. Ah well.
(But that close-up reminds me how nice it is to work with a real camera with optical zoom, and not all the mushy A.I. hallucination nonsense of my Pixel phone.)
So, my bees swarmed today. That was an adventure. My friend and I were able to retrieve the swarm from pretty high up in a tree on my property. Bees will swarm when a hive decides to split, usually because the space they're living in is getting too cramped for the number of bees that the local resources can support. In this case it's because we hadn't added additional boxes to expand the space for the hive soon enough, oops.
While reviewing a couple of hours of video from today, I did see some bees leave and the same or others come back. Maybe the new sign above the entrance is helping or it's just nurse bees assigned to foraging so they don't have a clue where home is and actually pay attention to the entrance.
Without many (any?) foragers the bees in the upper split seem thirsty. It's surprising how fast they all show up once one of them finds water on the landing board. I had been dribbling some on there but found a little cap that fit.
Everything around the house has been trampled and compacted from the restoration project. Trying seeds to get as many plants as I can, including annuals, to fill in.
Finally started seeds I should have started weeks ago:
Corydalis flavula, Yellow Corydalis, an annual
Cuphea viscosissima, Clammy Waxweed, an annual
Monarda fistulosa, Bee Balm
I've got other seeds stratifying in the fridge. Again, weeks late, but we'll see what happens.
A happy day today for me and "My Little Bees": The Colletes, cellophane bees, have emerged, and by the dozens! This despite having their habitat trampled band compacted during construction.
They are especially numerous in the area that I not only forked, but overturned. There is little activity in the forked-only areas, and none at all in the still-compacted spots.
So, I am relieved, and have hope the population will recover.