A wax crystal coating causes ants to slip off, while hornet and bee pollinators can fly right in.
Category - Close Encounters
Erin Zimmerman
Fungal highways for P-solubilizing bacteria
New study in New Phytologist reveals that nutrient-solubilising bacteria can travel on fungi hyphae if the fungi provides a source of energy.
Juniper Kiss
Crop diversity and semi-natural habitat a boon to yields as well as pollinators
Greater proportions of semi-natural habitat surrounding fields increased bumble bee and honey bee densities.
Nectar thieves prefer daylight robbery
Displaying flowers in light rather than shadow should help them attract pollinators, but a good display can also attract thieves.
Alun Salt
Computer simulation highlights the importance of pollinator diversity
Sharing pollinators can cause problems when pollen competes for transport
Floral chemistry reveals the basis of an orchid pollinator shift
A greater concentration of a compound present throughout the species allowed one morph to attract bee pollinators.
Invasive plants can homogenize soil pathogens
The decreased number of pathogen species appears to benefit the invaders.
Cockroaches the main pollinator of a rare Chinese flower
The phenomenon, though rare, may be ancient.
Even in juvenile stages, mistletoe can adjust its physiology according to its host
Impact on the tree varied depending on whether it was deciduous or evergreen
Asymmetry allows divergent use of pollinators, but often represents a one-way evolutionary street
Changes in floral symmetry allow a single pollinator to be used differently by multiple species.
Within a mixed species, annuals self-pollinate more than perennials
A smaller stigma-anther separation in annuals seems to indicate a genetic basis for mating system differences.
Indirect facilitation affects ecosystem functioning in an alpine meadow
Indirect facilitation by a shrub increased forb community biomass and functional diversity.
Greater floral overlap and pollinator generalization favoured in a buzz-pollinated plant
Simultaneous flowering and low pollinator specialization led to greater reproductive success.
Edge effects and mating patterns in a bumblebee-pollinated plant
Are plants on the edge of their population at a disadvantage when it comes to pollination?
William Salter