Bees are good informers
Friday, September 9, 2011 - 09:00
in Mathematics & Economics
Honeybees can do far more than simply pollinate plants or make honey. The busy creatures also make excellent environmental monitors. This has been demonstrated by Wageningen UR bee researcher Sjef van der Steen. He used swarms of bees to measure the concentration of metals in Maastricht, Buggenum and Hoek van Holland. It turned out that the bees made excellent informers.