We thought bees relied on hard-wired instinct to land, but a study involving flying robots suggests the bees may also need to learn about specific surface textures before they can touch down Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2266301-flying-robots-suggest-bees-cant-rely-on-instinct-to-land-on-flowers/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…
Tag: Flowers
Monarch butterflies are in trouble: Here’s how to help in your own yard
The 2020 annual count of monarch butterflies in the western United States found shockingly few, confirming fears that the insect is on the brink of extinction. Source: https://earthsky.org/earth/monarch-butterflies-of-western-us-nearing-extinction-what-you-can-do…
A Chinese perspective on autumn
In Chinese thought, autumn is with the direction west, considered to be the direction of dreams and visions. Source: https://earthsky.org/earth/autumn-equinox-cycles-of-nature-and-chinese-philosophy…
Training bees to prefer certain flower scents boosts seed production
Feeding honeybees scented food makes them more likely to visit flowers with that scent, boosting pollination rates and crop yields Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2254654-training-bees-to-prefer-certain-flower-scents-boosts-seed-production/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…
Hummingbirds see colors we can only imagine
“Our experiments enabled us to get a sneak peek into what the world looks like to a hummingbird,” one scientist said. Source: https://earthsky.org/earth/wild-hummingbirds-see-colors-humans-can-only-imagine…
Scientists Find Way To Pollinate Plants With Soap Bubbles As Bees Decline
Researchers have found that soap bubbles can carry pollen grains and deposit them on flowers. CNET reports: “It sounds somewhat like fantasy, but the functional soap bubble allows effective pollination and assures that the quality of fruits is the same as with conventional hand pollination,” said Eijiro Miyako, associate professor at the Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology and lead…
Soap bubbles covered in pollen could help fertilise flowers
As bee populations continue to decline, researchers are looking for alternative ways to fertilise flowers. One suggestion is using soap bubbles to deliver pollen Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2246235-soap-bubbles-covered-in-pollen-could-help-fertilise-flowers/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…
10 Tips On How To Keep Plants Alive During Summer Time
Do you always find your flowers, shrubs, and trees turning brown and lifeless every time a heatwave hits the state? Check out our simple yet effective tips on how to keep plants alive during summertime! RELATED: 50 Gardening Tips And Tricks To Become A Successful Homesteader 10 Effective Tips How to Keep Plants Alive Amidst…Continue Reading
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Bees stab plants to make them flower
When pollen is scarce, bumblebees pierce the leaves of plants in order to force them to produce flowers more quickly, according to new research. Source: https://earthsky.org/earth/bumblebees-stab-plants-to-make-them-flower…
Bumblebees’ ‘Clever Trick’ Fools Plants Into Flowering
Scientists found that when deprived of pollen, bumblebees will nibble on the leaves of flowerless plants to trick them into flowering, sometimes up to 30 days earlier than normal. The BBC reports: Writing in the journal Science, the scientists say they have struggled to replicate the bees’ trick in the laboratory. Scientists in Switzerland found that when the bees were deprived…