Bumblebees exposed to up to seven times as much toxic metal as honeybees
www.cam.ac.uk
Bumblebees collect up to seven times the amount of toxic heavy metals as honeybees even when foraging in the same environment, new research from the University of Cambridge has discovered. Exposure to these metals can affect everything from their ability to forage for food to their ability to reproduce.
  • venusaurEnglish
    9·
    2 days ago

    They’re making weapons of mass beestruction

    • JohnnyEnzyme@piefed.socialEnglish
      2·
      2 days ago

      Kinda yeah. These aren’t natural sources:

      Metal pollution is a widespread issue, typically concentrated near industrial centres, mining areas and towns and cities. It can also be carried to rural areas in the air or through the use of sewage sludge, agrochemicals and fertilisers, for example.

      When bees are foraging for food, they can inadvertently collect metals from their environment through exposure to contaminated soil, dust and pollen. Even at low concentrations, certain metals can be toxic, for example impairing learning and memory, which may affect foraging efficiency and navigation. Metals have been linked to reduced reproductive success, leading to fewer offspring and disrupting brood development.

      • MpatchEnglish
        2·
        2 days ago

        Can confirm, work at a location that has been an industrial scrap yard/ automotive scrapyard, currently a fab shop. Boy let me tell you our bumblebees are damn juicy chonkers, but fuck are they dumb. Watch em come out of the hole in the attic, then watch em smash the wall all around for a while till finally the damn thing gets in the right spot. Hell, I even asked one once to bring me a 1/2 wrench. The poor thing brought me a 12mm.