ARE BEES THE BETTER PESTICIDE?

Every day farmers spray pesticides on their crops to protect them from insects and diseases. In the U.S. alone, over 1 billion tons of pesticides are used per year. But that could soon become a thing of the past, because a company called Bee Vectoring Technology has found a natural alternative to pesticide: bees. A specialized tray containing organic pesticide made of a powdered fungus is placed at the entrance of a beehive. As they exit the hive the insects brush up against the powder, which is totally harmless to them. They carry it on their fuzzy bodies and distribute it to the local flowers, thereby inoculating their eventual fruit against diseases. It takes 300 bees and 18 grams of the powder to protect around 10 million plants.

The honeybee can reach a top speed of 20 miles per hour during its excursions. To achieve such velocity, its wings beat approximately 12,000 times per minute. Juvenile worker bees will spend the beginning of their careers as brood nurses tending to the...