Researchers in Germany film the complete inner workings of a honeycomb for the first time

Scientists at the Goethe University in Frankfurt have documented for the first time the behavior of honey bees in honeycomb cells with high-resolution photos and videos. The researchers, led by biologist Paul Siefert from the Goethe University Beekeeping Institute in Frankfurt, want to sensitize the general public about social processes in bee colonies and have made the rare images publicly available on the Internet. The researchers found that certain pesticides - neonicotinoids - changed the behavior of the nurse bees: they fed the larvae less frequently. The larvae needed up to 10 more hours to develop. A longer development time in the hive can favor infestation with bee pests such as the varroa mite. Bees have a very complex brood behavior: a cleaner bee cleans an empty honeycomb (brood cell) of the remains of the previous brood before the queen bee lays an egg inside. Once the bee larva hatches, it is fed by a nurse bee for six days. The nurse bees then seal the brood cell ...