UI busy with several new honey bee studies
UI busy with several new honey bee studies: "Honey bees probably would have been near the top of the list of species whose genes scientists wanted to map even if they weren't so sociable.
They are, after all, the premier pollinating insect on the planet and have a hand in producing billions of dollars in U.S. food crops every year, University of Illinois entomology Professor Gene Robinson said recently.
'It is vital to agriculture and the environment,' Robinson said of the bees' pollinating role.
But it is the honey bee as 'social behavior extremist' with 'one of the most complex animal societies on the planet' that really interests Robinson, who also directs the UI neuroscience program, and a lot of other scientists.
The molecular mechanics of bee brains may tell us something about how genes affect behavior and vice versa, social behavior in particular, and a society itself. Bees' social behavior and society for sure."
They are, after all, the premier pollinating insect on the planet and have a hand in producing billions of dollars in U.S. food crops every year, University of Illinois entomology Professor Gene Robinson said recently.
'It is vital to agriculture and the environment,' Robinson said of the bees' pollinating role.
But it is the honey bee as 'social behavior extremist' with 'one of the most complex animal societies on the planet' that really interests Robinson, who also directs the UI neuroscience program, and a lot of other scientists.
The molecular mechanics of bee brains may tell us something about how genes affect behavior and vice versa, social behavior in particular, and a society itself. Bees' social behavior and society for sure."
posted by Scott Paton at 7:10 PM
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