Level 1 - Absolute Beginner
Honeybees are small and sweet. But a new study says they can be bullies.
Scientists watched bees and other insects on flowers near Cambridge in England.
Wild insects often left when a honeybee came. The honeybee won.
One wild bee was strong. It was the ivy bee. It did not run away.
- bee
- A flying insect that makes honey or visits flowers.
- flower
- The colorful part of a plant.
- wild
- Living in nature, not on a farm.
- insect
- A small animal with six legs.
- bully
- Someone who scares weaker people.
- study
- Careful work to learn about something.
- win
- To finish first.
- strong
- Having a lot of power.
Level 2 - Elementary
A study from Anglia Ruskin University found that honeybees often push wild pollinators away from flowers. It was published in the journal Ecological Entomology.
Scientists watched five sites in and around Cambridge for two years. Every site was within 300 meters of honeybee colonies. They looked at insects on bramble and ivy flowers.
Wild insects moved away from honeybees in 28 percent of meetings on bramble and 36 percent on ivy. Almost all fights were started by honeybees.
The ivy bee was different. It won more of its contests against honeybees. The scientists say they believe this is the first time this has been seen.
- pollinator
- An animal that carries pollen between flowers.
- colony
- A group of bees living together.
- bramble
- A wild bush that gives blackberries.
- ivy
- A plant that climbs walls and trees.
- contest
- A fight or race to see who wins.
- site
- A place where something happens.
- percent
- A part of one hundred.
- journal
- A magazine where scientists publish their work.
Level 3 - Intermediate
Honeybees are often seen as gentle helpers, but new research suggests they can crowd out their wild cousins. A study led by Anglia Ruskin University, published in Ecological Entomology, followed insects at five sites in and around Cambridge over two years. Each site lay within 300 meters of known honeybee colonies, and the team focused on two plants that flower late in the season: bramble and ivy.
The results were stark. Wild pollinators such as bumblebees and hoverflies avoided honeybees in 28 percent of encounters on bramble and 36 percent on ivy. Very few aggressive meetings were started by anyone other than honeybees.
One species stood out. The ivy bee, which feeds on ivy in autumn, won contests against honeybees more often than it lost them, which the researchers believe is the first time such behaviour has been recorded.
The lead researchers stressed that the aim was not to discourage beekeeping. They did warn that predicted warming in the United Kingdom may make competition worse, because hotter weather can dry up nectar and leave flowers with less to share.
- crowd out
- To push others out by taking their space.
- encounter
- A meeting, often unplanned.
- aggressive
- Ready to attack or fight.
- species
- A type of living thing.
- nectar
- The sweet liquid made by flowers.
- discourage
- To make someone less willing to do something.
- stark
- Very clear and impossible to ignore.
- competition
- A struggle between living things for the same resource.
Level 4 - Advanced
A study led by Anglia Ruskin University adds evidence to a long-running debate about whether managed honeybees displace wild pollinators. Published in Ecological Entomology, the work tracked insects over two years at five sites in and around Cambridge, each within 300 meters of known honeybee colonies, concentrating on two late-season resources, bramble and ivy.
The behavioural data are striking. Wild pollinators, including bumblebees and hoverflies, retreated from honeybees in 28 percent of interactions on bramble and 36 percent on ivy, and the researchers recorded very few aggressive episodes that honeybees had not initiated. In other words, interference competition, a direct confrontation at the flower itself, appears to be real and one-sided.
The ivy bee was the notable exception. Specialised on ivy, which blooms in autumn, it prevailed against honeybees more often than it yielded, a pattern the authors believe has not been documented before. The finding hints that a specialist can hold its ground where a generalist cannot be dislodged.
The authors are careful. They say they do not intend to discourage beekeeping, and other research, including a Marseille study, suggests native bees sometimes simply switch to other plants. But they warn that projected warming in Britain may intensify the pressure, since heat stress dries nectar and plants offer less to divide. A follow-up project in rural Cambridgeshire will test how far the effect extends.
- displace
- To force something out of its usual place.
- managed
- Kept and cared for by people.
- interference competition
- Competition in which one animal directly blocks another.
- retreated
- Moved back to avoid danger.
- prevailed
- Won or proved stronger.
- generalist
- A species that uses many kinds of food or habitat.
- dislodged
- Forced out of position.
- intensify
- To become stronger or more severe.
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