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Article: How Bees See, And Why It Matters
Scientists consider bees to be a keystone species. They are so important to an ecosystem that it will collapse without them. At least 90 commercially grown crops depend upon bee pollination for survival. How important is the pollination by bees? Ask an almond grower. Without bees, there would be no almonds. Apples, blueberries, cherries, avocados,…
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BioSTEAM: Make an Interactive Polarized Light Visualizer!
Pollinator eyes are specialized to see wavelengths on the electromagnetic spectrum that we can’t see like ultra violet light that helps them navigate to nectar rich flowers or even prey. Pollinators like bees, butterflies and bats can also see qualities of light that we can’t see with our eyes alone like the light polarization that…
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Video: Show Me Some Science! Polarization of the Sky
Bees are capable of remarkable feats of orientation and navigation; they have a very strong sense of direction. Find out more in this easy experiment.
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Video: What happens to bees during a solar eclipse?
What happens to bees during a solar eclipse? Citizen scientists found out. See what they observed in this Australian Academy of Science video.
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Video: The Sunstone: Secret of Viking Navigation
For almost five hundred years, the Vikings navigated across unimaginable distances. How did they do it?
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Article: Sun Compass Integration of Skylight Cues in Migratory Monarch Butterflies
Migrating monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus) use a time-compensated sun compass to navigate from eastern North America to their overwintering grounds in central Mexico. Find out more in this article. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0896627310010731
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Article: Dung beetles have a surprisingly sophisticated way of navigating the world
Dung Beetles use the stars to navigate. New discoveries are finding they navigate by the wind direction and solar orientation as well. Find out more in this National Geographic article. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/2019/06/dung-beetles-use-wind-sun-navigation/
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Project: Use Polarizing Film to Locate the Sun on Overcast Days
Use Polarizing Film to Locate the Sun on Overcast DaysVikings may have navigated using a sunstone. Find out more about the science and how to make your own in this Make:Project from Make Magazine. https://makezine.com/projects/locate-sun-on-overcast-days/
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Project: Locating the Sun by Polarizing Sunglasses
Anti-glare polarizing sunglasses reduce ground reflected polarized rays. They can be used to locate the Sun even when it is hidden from view by clouds or by the horizon. In this way, they can even do the main task of “sky compass” and similar instruments. Find out how to make it yourself in this project…
