Hummingbirds are drawn to flowers that offer three things at once: bright color, a tubular shape that fits their long bills, and a steady supply of nectar. Red is the strongest attractor, but these pollinators also visit bright shades of orange, yellow, and purple. The best hummingbird flowers combine all three features, and a garden […] The post Hummingbird Flowers: Nectar-Rich Blooms That Keep …
A 2023 study published in Science Advances by Molina-Montenegro et al. found that exposure to electromagnetic field (EMF) radiation emitted by high-voltage transmission power line towers induced significant physiological stress in honeybees and negatively impacted their pollination behavior. In short: EMF-exposed honeybees showed changes in the expression of genes related to navigation, foraging,…
AUBURN UNIVERSITY, Ala. — They flutter by and buzz around doing important work, pollinating flowers and crops. During the Great Southeast Pollinator Census Aug. 22 and 23, it’s time for....
In this blog post, Yunhui Liu and team discuss their latest research into the importance of honeybees and wild bees for apple pollination, as well as whether the contribution of wild bees is influenced by increasing numbers of honeybees. Animal pollination is crucial for sustainable crop production and food security. Although there is a growing reliance on pollinators in crop production, global r…
In this new post, Masayoshi Hiraiwa – postdoctoral researcher at Kindai University – presents his work ‘Loss of functional diversity rather than species diversity of pollinators decreases community‐wide trait matching and pollination function’. He discusses the importance of functional traits on biotic interactions, the challenge of finding proper study sites, and his interest in less…
Bumblebees are among the best pollinators of any flower-visiting insects. This is for several reasons. Firstly, they are quite large and can fly long distances between flowers, transporting pollen. Secondly, they are covered with long hairs that help the bee to gather pollen but also transfer it from flower to flower. The third reason is because of a special buzzing technique the bees have (somet…
The orchard mason bee is a native nonsocial bee that is an efficient pollinator of early-season crops, including small and tree fruit, flowers, and vegetables.
What’s the Buzz? Bees, Behavior, and Pollination
Callin Switzer was drawn to buzz pollination because the subject has not received as much attention as it deserves in view of its importance to our food supply. Also, as phenomena go, it’s pretty darn cool.
If you were one of the 250,000 people who visited Harvard’s Arnold Arboretum in 2013, you might have witnessed a curious spectacle that summer …
This is the sixth in a series of posts reviewing the 17 articles found in the October 2014 Special Issue of American Journal of Botany, Speaking of Food: Connecting Basic and Applied Science. Insect Pollination and Self-Incompatibility in Edible and/or Medicinal Crops in Southwestern China, a Global Hotspot of Diversity by Zong-Xin Ren, Hong Wang, Peter […]
