Since the advent of gene mapping, the classification of bee species has changed. Just a few years ago there were eleven families of bees, then nine, now seven. Even so, there are more species of bees—about 20,000—than species of mammals and birds combined, so that’s a lot of bees. Dividing all those species into families […] Read more
Nothing has stirred up taxonomic relationships faster than genetic analysis. Relationships between species—both plant and animal—have been turned upside down. Some relationships that were “set in stone” are now known to be non-existent, and living things thought to have no relationship whatsoever are now considered “kissing cousins.” New family trees are being drawn, names are […] Read more