A study published in the journal Nature last month reveals that wild bumble bees, and not only domesticated honey bees as so often reported lately, are getting sick. And it's the honey bees that are probably making them sick. Wild bee populations are declining and this study may help explain why. The scientists think that the managed honey bees may be leaving their pathogens on the flowers. They theorize that the unsuspecting wild bee then lands on the flower and thus contracts the pathogen to itself. This could be tragic news for the wild bumble bee as wild bees live in smaller...

If you're a regular reader of my blog, you've heard about colony collapse disorder by now (where honey bees suddenly disappear from a hive) and you already know that without these bees, our food sources would dwindle rapidly. But do you know how far scientists are going to get to the source of this global problem? In Australia, where colony collapse disorder has not yet been reported, scientists from Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) are attaching tiny sensors (2.5mm x 2.5mm) to the back of bees. Up to 5000 bees will be refrigerated for up to five...

Natural and Quality…those are two words that I like to see together. And it's with these two words that Annette Cronenberg-Günter introduces her shop zierreich. Annette designs and makes clothing and accessories for children. Her designs are timeless and show loving attention to detail. Annette works mainly with organic fabrics. Well, you already know how I feel about the toxins that are emitted by burning paraffin candles. But what about the toxins that touch our skin or even worse, our children's skin?  Have you read about the latest study by Greenpeace investigating hazardous chemicals in children's clothing? Well, to give you an idea...

Provided we take care of the bees today, this is what beekeeping could look like in the future. Wow!   As part of Philips forward looking design project called "Microbial Home", it has designed a concept for keeping bees at home. This hive is so beautiful that I would compare it to having a fish tank in your home, very soothing and meditative to watch. Imagine having a first row seat to the fascinating world of bees. The hive consists of two parts: entrance from the outside and the inside containing the honeycomb frames. Just imagine getting your honey fresh...

Native pollinators like bees play an essential role in the environment and are an indispensable part of our agricultural system. Many foods that we eat depend on crops pollinated by honeybees and 90% of all flowering plants require pollinators to reproduce. But in recent years, bees and other pollinators have been disappearing at alarming rates, causing widespread concern that these important species could be wiped out altogether. A widely used class of insecticides called neonicotinoids affects pollinators including honeybees. Since neonicotinoids first became widely used in the mid-2000s, roughly one-third of America's honeybee colonies have collapsed each year. Allowing even...