Many fruits, nuts and other crops rely on bees to pollinate their flowers at just the right time of year. Many farmers rent bees to get the job done at pollination time.
Honeybees receive a lot of attention, but the first North American bee to be listed as an endangered species is a wild bumble bee. Wild bees are vital pollinators, and some are declining rapidly.
Rather than trying to out-compete each other, flowers may work together to attract bees en masse. It’s the sort of approach that is effective in the world of advertising too.
Venus flytrap plants have ‘traps’ that snap shut on insect prey. But they also rely on insects for pollination. New research suggests how the plant avoids eating its allies.
Pollination in South Africa’s ecosystems is extremely complex. However new advances such as pollen metabarcoding help us understand interactions between pollinators and pollen.
If warmer weather is your sign to reach for the pesticide, think again. From better soil to your own army of beneficial bugs, here are five reasons to put down the insect spray.