From just a few days old until they die, around three weeks later, male honeybees leave the hive several times a day on a mission to complete their only goal in life – to find a queen and mate with her. But where the bees go to have sex has been a source of mystery for a long time. For one thing, bee mating happens 50 metres in the air, making it incredibly difficult for researchers to study.

But now, scientists are a step closer to understanding their mysterious behaviour. Over the course of two years, a team of researchers strapped tiny radar reflectors onto male honeybees and tracked where they went. The results showed males gather in large swarms, increasing their chances of bumping into the queens. But how they know where to gather remains a mystery.

If you’ve got a bird feeder in your garden it might be great for some birds, but not for others. New research has found blue tits benefit the most from bird feeders, in some cases travelling over 1km to get their beaks on the tasty snacks. But species that are a bit less confident ­– like the marsh tit, willow tit, pied flycatcher, wood warbler and lesser spotted woodpecker – might be losing out.

Do you know what the term “woke” means? If not, you’re not alone. A new study suggests the public is completely split on their understanding of the word, with a quarter saying it’s a compliment, a quarter that it’s an insult – and the rest having little clue what the term even means. Which all raises questions about whether the UK is really as much in the grip of a culture war as some like to portray.

And watch out later today for our report on what really mattered in Dominic Cummings’ testimony to parliament yesterday.

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