Posts Tagged: James Nieh

Professor James Nieh: Deciphering Honey Bee Communication

The fascinating world of honey bee communication! The next UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology seminar will feature professor James Nieh, a bee biologist in the Section of Ecology, Behavior, and Evolution, Division of...

Honey bees at work in the hive. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Honey bees at work in the hive. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

UC Network Formed to Strengthen Honey Bee Health and Crop Pollination

It's good to see the University of California's Office of the President award a three-year $900,000 grant to four UC Davis campuses to establish a network of bee researchers and engineers to strengthen honey bee health and crop pollination.  The...

A honey bee packing pollen on almond blossoms on the UC Davis campus. California almonds usually begin blooming around Feb. 14. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A honey bee packing pollen on almond blossoms on the UC Davis campus. California almonds usually begin blooming around Feb. 14. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Extension apiculturist Elina Lastro Niño (center) of UC Davis is a co-principal investigator. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Extension apiculturist Elina Lastro Niño (center) of UC Davis is a co-principal investigator. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A queen bee and her retinue. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A queen bee and her retinue. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Zeroing in on the Deadly Game Between Honey Bees and Their Predators

If you're around honey bees, you've seen their predators: crab spiders, orb weavers, praying mantids, birds and more. It's a tough world out there for pollinators. Take it from UC San Diego bee scientist James Nieh, who will be on the UC Davis campus...

A crab spider nails a honey bee while another honey bee watches. This image, on bluebeard, Caryopteris x clandonensis, was taken in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A crab spider nails a honey bee while another honey bee watches. This image, on bluebeard, Caryopteris x clandonensis, was taken in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Rub-a-Dub-Dub

Ever seen honey bees engaging in washboarding? It's a behavior so named because they look as if they're scrubbing clothes on a washboard or scrubbing their home.It occurs near the entrance of the hive and only with worker bees. They go back and...

Honey bees engaging in washboarding behavior with "rocking" or up-and-down movements. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Honey bees engaging in washboarding behavior with "rocking" or up-and-down movements. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Foragers flying back to the hive as their sisters engage in washboarding activity on the wall, or what Susan Cobey calls "sweeping the front porch." (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Foragers flying back to the hive as their sisters engage in washboarding activity on the wall, or what Susan Cobey calls "sweeping the front porch." (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Why Honey Bees Stop the (Waggle) Dancing

A honey bee foraging in a lavender patch encounters a jumping spider and narrowly avoids becoming prey.HB returns to the hive only to notice a sister doing the waggle dance to communicate (erroneously) what a good foraging site this lavender patch is,...

Honey bee head-butts her dancing sister to warn of danger. (Photo Courtesy of James Nieh)

Honey bee head-butts her dancing sister to warn of danger. (Photo Courtesy of James Nieh)

Jumping spider waiting for prey. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Jumping spider waiting for prey. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

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