bees and astrobiology reviewed

When I talk about book reviews, I have separate tags for books I review and for my books being reviewed, but this may be the first time I have to use them in the same entry, because the November issue of C&I contains both a review of my book Astrobiology (3rd ed.), and my review of the absolutely brilliant book

The mind of a bee
by Lars Chittka
Princeton University Press:

All the buzz about bees

Chemistry & Industry Volume 86, Issue 11, November 2022, Page 36

access via:

Wiley Online Library (paywalled PDF of the whole review section, ie both reviews)

SCI (premium content, ie members only)

SCI link for the Astrobiology review

Blackwells

See also my twitter thread listing books I read in 2022.

catching up

... with a few months worth of publications in German magazines (all in the same magazine in fact, but pieces in the other titles just had to queue a bit and will be out soon), here goes:


Ausgeforscht: Löchrig by design
Nachrichten aus der Chemie Volume 66, Issue 9 September 2018 Page 935
Access via Wiley Online Library

Quanteneffekte – ganz natürlich
Nachrichten aus der Chemie Volume 66, Issue 10 Oktober 2018 Pages 949-951
Access via Wiley Online Library

Ausgeforscht: Grünlilie mit Alarmanlage
Nachrichten aus der Chemie Volume 66, Issue 10 Oktober 2018 Page 1027
Access via Wiley Online Library

Ausgeforscht: Der älteste Käse der Welt?
Nachrichten aus der Chemie
Volume 66, Issue 11 November 2018 Page 1127
Access via Wiley Online Library
NB this fun-poking piece on very old cheese inspired my feature article in Current Biology on the same topic, this time very serious and in English.

Bienenverträgliche Insektizide – eine Utopie?
Nachrichten aus der Chemie Volume 66, Issue 12 Dezember 2018 Pages 1141-1142
Access via Wiley Online Library
The next generation of insecticides after Neonics may also harm bees. A related feature in English is here.

Ausgeforscht: FakeCon 2019 - jetzt buchen!
Nachrichten aus der Chemie Volume 66, Issue 12 Dezember 2018 Page 1219
Access via Wiley Online Library

Ausgeforscht: Analytische Filmbewertung
Nachrichten aus der Chemie Volume 67, Issue 1, Januar 2019, Page 114
Access via Wiley Online Library

As it happens, the Nachrichten have undergone a re-design and now look like this:

latest buzz

I've been covering bee problems for well over a decade now - since the crisis around colony collapse disorder in the mid-00s. Progress has been made in terms of recognising the subtle kinds of damage that neonicotinoids can do to pollinators. But the fundamental paradox remains - we depend on insects for our nutrition (never mind to maintain a residue of a natural environment), and yet we put tonnes of insecticides into the environment.

Three neonics are now being banned EU-wide, but one of the products that may replace them is now also implicated in (bumble)bee problems. One day we'll have to acknowledge that the problem isn't insects, it's monocultures. And we'll have to learn agriculture from scratch again as our ancestors did some 12,000 years ago.

Anyhow, my latest buzz on bees is out now:

Bee worries beyond neonicotinoids

Current Biology
Volume 28, Issue 19, 8 October 2018, Pages R1121-R1123

FREE access to full text and PDF download




(Own photo, taken at Chelsea Physics Garden, London.)

bees can't help it

Another news story on bees and and neonicotinoids. Over the last few years it has become clear that sublethal effects of the pesticides are very bad news for the success of bee colonies. The UK govt seems to think that bees could just say no to poisoned nectar.

Research from Geraldine Wright's lab now shows that they can't detect the poison with their sense of bitter taste. Worse still, they have a tendency to eat more of the toxic stuff. Full story out in Chemistry World, free access:

Bees 'prefer' neonicotinoid-laced nectar
Chemistry World 22.4.2015

The story also appears in the June issue of the printed magazine, on page 29.

own photo (not sure if I've used this one before?)

PS related news that came in just after this:

• Bumblebee genomes
• Bumblebees self-medicate with nicotine

bees to birds

I have covered the threats to bees and other pollinators a few times since the emergence of Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) in the noughties (see the label bees, although this blog doesn't quite go back to the very beginning of the problem). Gradually, the emphasis shifted to the question of if and how systemic pesticides and in particular the neonicotinoids, could through indirect or subtle sublethal effects cause pollinator problems.

Ecologists have now compiled evidence suggesting that it's not just the pollinators that suffer from systemic pesticides accumulating in soil and surface water. Collateral damage ranges from annelid worms to birds, and valuable ecosystem services (beyond pollination) are under threat. I've written a feature about all this which is now out in Current Biology (restricted access):

Systemic pesticide concerns extend beyond the bees
Current Biology Volume 24, Issue 16, pR717–R720, 18 August 2014
Summary and restricted access to full text and PDF file

Bumblebees in a garden in Germany. Own photo.

algae, bees, and chemists

The roundup of German pieces published in June includes red algae caught stealing, bees being invited for coffee, and chemists in high office.

Nachrichten aus der Chemie 61, 647
Blickpunkt Biowissenschaften: Extremophile Rotalge des Gen-Diebstahls überführt

Nachrichten aus der Chemie 61, 623
Ausgeforscht: Wir sind Papst (und mehr)

Chemie in unserer Zeit 47, 146
Koffein stärkt Gedächtnis der Bienen Abstract and restricted access to PDF file

one of the bumblebees buzzing around on my flickr photostream.

bees memories

Recent research and the EU's temporary ban on neonicotinoid pesticides has brought the threats to bees and other pollinators on the agenda again. While manufacturers insist that neonicotinoids aren't toxic to bees in concentrations found in the environment, the interest now focuses on the more subtle effects the substances may have. For instance, by making bees forgetful, even sublethal doses can endanger the survival of the colony.

Read all about it in my feature that came out in Current Biology last week:

EU ban puts spotlight on complex effects of neonicotinoids

Current Biology, Volume 23, Issue 11, R462-R464, 3 June 2013 doi:10.1016/j.cub.2013.05.030

Free access to

HTML text

PDF file

(one of my many bumblebees on Flickr)

Incidentally, in this month's issue of Chemie in unserer Zeit I also have a piece on bees' memories. Unlike the neonicotinoids, caffeine seems to improve it.

Pflanzeninhaltsstoffe: Koffein stärkt Gedächtnis der Bienen

Chemie in unserer Zeit

Volume 47, Issue 3, page 146, Juni 2013 DOI: 10.1002/ciuz.201390029

Abstract and limited access to PDF file

bees, ETs, ACGTs, and old samples

Among the German articles published in June we have bees, ETs, re-evaluation of Stanley Miller's samples, and third generation genome sequencing:


Rückkehr zum Ursprung des Lebens
Chemie in unserer Zeit Vol 45, No 3, page 158
Article first published online: 6 JUN 2011 | DOI: 10.1002/ciuz.201190041
limited access to PDF file

Genomsequenzierer. Die dritte Generation
Chemie in unserer Zeit Vol 45, No 3, pages 184–187
Article first published online: 6 JUN 2011 | DOI: 10.1002/ciuz.201100553
limited access to PDF file
most recent English article on this topic

Ausgeforscht: Und täglich grüßt E.T.
Nachrichten aus der Chemie Vol 59, No 6, page 605

Biowissenschaften: Keine Ernte ohne Bestäuber
Nachrichten aus der Chemie Vol 59, No 6, pages 629-631
most recent English article on this topic

Summary: Das Sterben ganzer Bienenvölker und der Artenschwund bei Hummeln bedrohen die Landwirtschaft in Europa und Nordamerika. Daran sind vermutlich mehrere Faktoren beteiligt, auch Pflanzenschutzmittel stehen unter Verdacht.

PS: The bees article also features my photo of a Bombus hypnorum (tree bumblebee):



(click image to see larger version in flickr)

the plight of the pollinators

The quest for the causes of the recent losses of honey bee colonies continues, and wild pollinators such as bumblebees are also threatened. A year shy of the 50th anniversary of Rachel Carson's famous book, it looks as though we might live to experience a silent spring ...

Read my feature article which appeared today:

New fears over bee declines
Current Biology, Volume 21, Issue 4, R137-R139, 22 February 2011
summary and FREE access to PDF file


PS here's one of my photos of one of the more successful bumblebee species, Bombus hypnorum, which actually expanded its range in Europe in the last couple of decades, and moved into England's gardens:

bumblebees for Britain

Had a great evening at the Earthwatch debate yesterday, where 5 groups of species competed for the title of environmental mascot for britain, and the bumblebees won:



Left to right: Tony Juniper (song thrush), Stephen Hopper (oak), Samantha Burgess (coldwater corals), George McGavin (bumblebee), Johannes Vogel (bluebell), and host Andrea Catherwood (a former Earthwatch volunteer).

George McGavin championed the bumblebee pointing out that it is a keystone in the ecological network, upon which many other species depend, and that the 25 bumblebee species found in the UK today represent 10% of the global bumblebee fauna.

Twitter hashtag for the event is#SpeciesForBritain

pick a species as UK mascot

At the forthcoming Earthwatch debate you can vote for a species to serve as an environmental mascot for Britain.

Among the five debaters will be Dr George McGavin, winner of the Earthwatch ‘Irreplaceable Species’ debate in 2008, when he won over the audience with his knowledge and wit, arguing the case for bees. This year Dr McGavin, BBC Lost Lands presenter and Honorary Research Associate at the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, will once more set the audience buzzing about bumblebees as his choice for Britain’s environmental mascot.

Also entering the fray to find the archetypal British species will be Tony Juniper, writer, campaigner and independent environmental advisor who will sing the praises of the song thrush; Professor Stephen Hopper, Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, will be rooting for the oak tree; Dr Johannes Vogel, the Keeper of Botany at London’s Natural History Museum, will paint a colourful picture of the bluebell; and Dr Samantha Burgess, Earthwatch Senior Research Manager (Oceans), will make waves for deep-sea coral.

The debaters have been challenged to choose a species which both represents the UK’s invaluable natural heritage, but also the British people’s inimitable spirit. They will work to persuade the audience that their chosen species is vital to ecosystem health and British social and cultural identity.

Earthwatch executive vice president Nigel Winser says “Our annual debate at the RGS is always a thought provoking and entertaining event, while addressing serious environmental issues. Do come along and cast your vote and help us choose the new environmental mascot for Britain for the 21st Century.”

Thursday 14 October 2010
at the Royal Geographical Society
1 Kensington Gore, London SW7 2AR

For full details and to book free tickets, click here.



Perfect excuse to dig out one of my own bumblebee photos from this summer! Vote bumblebees!

bumblebee on thistle

Did I mention there are lots of bumblebees around here? I'm especially fond of those with the red backside, which are a bit rarer than those with yellow / white barcodes. It's also worth learning to find flowers that are attractive to both bumblebees and human viewers. (Not sure whether the thing below counts as a thistle, actually, the flower looks like one, but the leaves aren't prickly.)




I've uploaded this and a few other (even nicer) new photos to my flickr photostream.

For a selection of my favourite photos, visit fotocommunity where I am only allowed one upload per week, so have to be very selective.

messy bumblebee

I had a lucky click on Monday, watching this bumblebee disappear in a flower I couldn't see into (as it was pointing away from me, and behind a fence) and just reaching over to point the camera at the flower blindly. This is what the camera saw but I didn't:



I've uploaded this and a few other new pix to my flickr photostream.

For a selection of my best (or at least favourite) photos, visit fotocommunity where I am only allowed one upload per week, so have to be very selective.

Oh, and I've also got pix on View but not sure it's worth the trouble as I don't get that many clicks there. Any views re. what's the best site for sharing photos?

insect-plant interactions

I'm studying insect-plant interactions, or stalking bumblebees, and gradually getting better at photographing them. Found out that there is no need to climb into trees, as there is plenty of bumblebee-friendly stuff in the front gardens up and down the road. Which also made me realise that having an area with lots of very small gardens is good for biodiversity, as everybody has different preferences in what they plant (or allows to grow) in their garden.






(as always, click the images to see the large version - and a lot more detail on the bumblebees)

Also acquired an identification guide which is very handy, it's the
Field Guide to the Bumblebees of Great Britain and Ireland
by Mike Edwards and Martin Jenner
(Paperback - Sep 2009)
so I'm learning to read those colourful bar codes, although I understand that in some cases there are several possibilities. (These ambiguous cases, the authors assure me, can easily be distinguished by a closer look at the genitalia. But maybe I'll just live with the uncertainty!)

PS These and a few more of my recent photos can now also be found on flickr.

PPS A full-page article on bee research has appeared in the Guardian:
Bee decline could be down to chemical cocktail interfering with brains

bumblebee biodiversity in the backyard

I've written quite a few pieces about colony losses in honey bees (Apis mellifera), but have to admit I didn't really know who's doing all the pollinating work in my own small garden. This weekend, after noticing one of the trees being visited by lots of insects, I took my camera and had a closer look. I think I have spotted four different species (not counting flies). All identifications below are tentative, so any helpful hints appreciated:


I think this could be a Bombus terrestris, or buff-tailed bumblebee ?


Love the orange neck-scarf on this one, think it might be Bombus hypnorum, which apparently only arrived in the UK in 2001 (according to Bumblebee Conservation Trust)?



Don't recall seeing its rear end, but if it's reddish, it might be a red-tailed bumblebee (Bombus lapidarius) ? I've definitely seen one of those elsewhere in Oxford.


I think this one is an ordinary European honey bee Apis mellifera - we may be in reach of the colony housed in the Oxford University Museum.

what's bugging the bees?

I have on various occasions reported on CCD (colony collapse disorder) and other disasters affecting honey bees around the world in recent years, mainly for Current Biology.

Now I've done a major round-up of the bees problems as a full length feature which is out in the Feb issue of Chemistry World. Essentially, I've been looking at the more serious possibilities, including pesticides, stress, environment (i.e.monoculture), and parasites. The emerging picture is that a combination of several factors is causing the problems. I also talked to Mike Edwards, an expert on wild bee species who maintains that their contribution to pollination is underappreciated, and the main problem of honey bees is domestication. He is featured in this month's CW podcast.

What's bugging the bees? (restricted access)

how to be bee-friendly

As the catastrophic losses of honey bee colonies around the world continue, I've done another piece on this topic, pegged to the recent "Plan Bee" initiative of the UK's "the cooperative" group of companies and the film The vanishing of the bees.

Bee screened
Current Biology, Volume 19, Issue 20, R921, 3 November 2009
doi:10.1016/j.cub.2009.10.009
The Co-operative Group of businesses in the UK has backed a film and a 10-point plan to raise awareness of the continuing losses of vital bee colonies.
abstract and restricted access to pdf file

Have also read the book "A world without bees" now (which I only knew in parts before) and am coming out of this with mixed feelings. Obviously, we do need to fix this problem, if we don't want to reduce our diet to rice and fish, but if you consider how large-scale monocultural farming and industrial bee-keeping have co-evolved in the US, following profit maximation with no regard for nature whatsoever, I can't help feeling that people in that industry get exactly what they deserve.

Biodiversity is not just for pretty postcards, it is essential to keep us alive. Replacing thousands of plant species and as many natural pollinators with just one clone of plant and one clone of pollinator has got to be a bad idea.

Oh, and maybe we should stop buying almonds, come to think of it.

bees, genes, and tweets

The round-up of German publications in October includes bees that don't buzz so busily any more, gene diagnostics being replaced by genome diagnostics, and a look into a future where tweeting has become the main communications medium:

Bienensterben: Sag mir, wo die Bienen sind
Chemie in unserer Zeit 43 Nr. 5, S. 267
Published Online: Oct 9 2009 6:27AM
DOI: 10.1002/ciuz.200990054

Von der Gendiagnostik zur Genomdiagnostik
Nachrichten aus der Chemie S. 1000-1001
Published Online: Oct 12 2009 7:57AM
DOI: 10.1002/nadc.200967400

Schöne neue Welt
Nachrichten aus der Chemie S. 970
Published Online: Oct 12 2009 7:57AM
DOI: 10.1002/nadc.200969141

PS: oops, I forgot:

Der Autor zahlt
Trillium Report 7, Nr. 3, S. 109

this last one is about Open Access publishing, juxtaposed with another piece on the same area by Claudia Borchard-Tuch.

bee movie

...coming up:

where have all the honeybees gone?

Three years after the first reports of a mysterious phenomenon of bee colonies disappearing without any apparent reason, termed colony collapse disorder (CCD), the causes are still as mysterious as ever. New research from the US, using DNA arrays and the known genome sequence of the honeybee has thrown up more questions than it answers. Meanwhile, UK beekeepers report unacceptably high losses for last winter, even though percentages are a bit less catastrophic than the year before.

Read my news focus in today's issue of Current Biology:

Bee mystery continues
Current Biology, Volume 19, Issue 17, R718, 15 September 2009
doi:10.1016/j.cub.2009.08.036
Abstract and restricted access to PDF file