Orchid Bees are thought to have generalist diets, but take forest plants from the menu, and they become a lot less successful.
Category - Close Encounters
Alun Salt
How an Italian butterfly is navigating the Anthropocene
A new study reveals that endangered butterflies can find unlikely refuge in cities, if urban greenspaces are managed with connectivity in mind.
Botanists Record the First Case of “Mirror Flowers” in an Oil-Producing Flower Species.
Researchers from Northeast Brazil describe the first case of specular flowers in Janusia anisandra, a species that offers oils as floral resources.
Guest Author
A Journey into the past in Search of Agapetes’ Pollinators: Could They Have Been Extinct Hummingbirds?
Agapetes species native to the Himalayas exhibit red, tubular, pendulous flowers, characteristic of hummingbird pollination. However, these birds are not found on the Asian continent! Kriebel and colleagues...
Mariana Duarte
How to Live on a Hot, Dry Rock: Different Solutions to the Same Problem
Exciting new research unveils the ecological and physiological secrets for different plants to thrive and coexist in an extreme tropical environment.
Carlos A. Ordóñez-Parra
Cannabis plants may have evolved cannabinoids to prevent herbivores getting the munchies
A study shows how cannabis plants may be the source of new pesticides, but there is a catch.
Eurekalert
How Serapias Orchids Outsmart Self-Pollination
Scientists reveal how Serapias orchids ensure their cross-pollination through a special flower morphology interacting with pollinators in a particular manner, without the need for pollen masses changes as in many other...
Renata Cantoro
Unlocking the Tiny Secrets to Grow the World’s Largest Flowers
Since germinating Rafflesia seeds has brought so many headaches, Dr Jeanmarie Molina and her team have analysed the genes expressed on its seeds to draw up a roadmap for their propagation and conservation.
The Choreography of Nature: How Plant-Pollinator Interactions Unfold in a Day
"From dawn's first light to twilight's embrace, every hour tells a new story about plants and pollinators.”
Victor H. D. Silva
Scientists uncover the secret pollinators behind southern Africa’s paintbrush lilies
A meticulous study of paintbrush lily pollination demonstrates sunbirds' flexibility and exposes hidden specialisation in small South African flowers.
Claude AI
Plant Vampires Have Hosts They Won’t Bite
New research reveals how even parasitic plants can be picky eaters.
Underground Web Gives Hope for Healing Broken Ecosystems
Targeted reintroduction of beneficial soil microbes offers a promising way to rebuild damaged plant-soil relationships and restore struggling ecosystems.
Dale Maylea
Imaginary Plants Reveal the Physics of Real Killers
A novel approach uniting maths, physics, and biology has uncovered how diverse rim shapes in carnivorous pitcher plants relate to strategies for catching different insect prey.
It’s Not Just Honeybees That Are Pollination Heroes
Abundant flies like Eristalis and wild bumblebees join domesticated honeybees as bugs for essential strawberry pollination, according to a new study tracking pollen transport.
