Beekeeping

The giant Velutina hornet is about four times bigger than a honey bee.

In Spain, beekeepers continue to battle killer hornets

Environment

Europeans have been battling the Velutina hornet for about 15 years. Spanish beekeepers have sent out a mayday for help, but so far they’ve been left to defend their hives on their own.

The hind legs or 'pollen basket' of a pollinating bee clings to a Salvia 'Mystic Spires Blue' sage flower at the United States Botanic Garden in Washington

Alberta’s diminishing bee colonies could have severe economic, environmental implications, expert says

Environment
A photo of Leydy Pech, a Mayan beekeeper

Mayan beekeepers launch legal battle to protect the environment

Environment
Cyclist ride in front of a bus shelter with flowers planted on the roof.

A Dutch city is turning bus shelters into bee sanctuaries

Environment
A man stands near a wooden bee hive on a rooftop

What the US could learn from Slovenia about protecting bees

Audric de Campeau pours a glass of mead in the Paris catacombs with his dog, Filou.

A French beekeeper makes mead in the Paris catacombs

Culture

Audric de Campeau has combined his two passions, beekeeping and winemaking, by making mead, an alcoholic beverage made with honey. And he ages his mead in the tunnels under Paris.

Beehives and almond trees

California’s almond farmers depend on beekeepers — and billions of bees

Environment

The Central Valley of California could still use more water, but there has been enough this winter to cause thousands of acres of irrigated almond orchards to burst into flower for a couple of weeks this past February. And with the blossoms came the beekeepers.

Egyptian beekeeping 1

What we can learn from the ancient Egyptian practice of beekeeping

Culture

Modern humans, facing a potential crisis of enormous proportions, have begun to recognize the importance of honeybees to agriculture and the stability of the global food chain. But long ago, in ancient Egypt, humans considered the honeybee sacred. Can we learn anything from that?

A bee approaches a peach blossom. Many of the more than 20,000 species of bee worldwide, including the well-known honey bee, are threatened by disease, habitat loss, and pesticides. President Obama's national pollinator plan would provide incentives for r

From the White House to Minnesota gardens, an effort to make more room for pollinators

Environment

Honey bees and other pollinators are in big trouble. President Barack Obama wants to help save them with a new protected bee habitat corridor along I-35 spanning the US from Laredo, Texas to Duluth Minnesota. Catherine Winter, who lives in Duluth and keeps bees herself, tracked down some other bee enthusiasts to talk about the president’s plan and their own efforts to protect the pollinators that help feed us all.

Monarch butterflies at the Pismo Beach Monarch Butterfly Grove in California.

‘The situation is desperate’ for monarch butterflies, but here’s the plan to save them

Environment

A new plan announced by the US government would restore seven million acres of lost habitat for the monarch butterfly and other pollinating insects like honeybees, and scientists says the plan comes not a moment too soon for the troubled insects.