Nature never stops revealing new and wonderful insights right here on Earth, although some of us are more focused on the ‘big stuff’ from outer space. Flowers are not blooming on time for bumblebees to nurture themselves with them. But once again, nature proves that it has numerous ways of adapting.
A team of Swiss researchers have concluded something stunning about bees. The creatures are finding a way to get their nourishment faster and in a unique way.
Bees are bitting plants to make them bloom
By simply nibbling on the flowers, bees are making them to bloom about 30 days faster than usual. This proves once again how intelligent bees are. Study author Mark Mescher, declared:
We found that others had also observed such behaviors, but no one had explored what the bees were doing to the plants or reported an effect on flower production,
Furthermore, when bumblebees were placed into cages full of mustard plants and unflowered tomato, It didn’t last too long before the insects started chowing down on the plants. The outcome was that all of the punctured plants bloomed faster, but the ones that were damaged produced flowers weeks earlier than the ones cut by the scientists.
Lars Chittka, who is a study co-author, said in a statement:
An encouraging interpretation of the new findings is that behavioral adaptations of flower-visitors can provide pollination systems with more plasticity and resilience to cope with climate change than hitherto suspected,
The research was published in Science. The decline in bees has increased the value of pollination by commercially managing hives of honey bees. Bees are feeding on nectar and pollen. Nectar is used primarily as an energy source, and pollen is used for protein and other nutrients. Most pollen is used as a nurture for larvae. Bee pollination is important both commercially and ecologically.
