The palm tree that lives beneath the rainforest floor

In the heart of western Borneo's vibrant jungles, the edible fruits of the underground palm are well-known to the local people who snack on them. But this botanical marvel has remained unnoticed by the scientific community ...

Bloom times vary in Malus species due to floral development rate

The domesticated apple (Malus ×domestica) is an economically valuable crop and an important source of nutrients and calories throughout temperate regions of the world. Fruit production is directly influenced by bloom time, ...

Bumblebees' nutrition influences their pesticide resistance

How susceptible bumblebees are to a common fungicide depends on the flowering plants to which it is applied on and how diverse the food supply is that is available to the insects. Monocultures can increase the insects' sensitivity ...

Wild bees need diverse agricultural landscapes

Mass-flowering crops such as oilseed rape or faba bean (also known as broad bean) provide valuable sources of food for bees, which, in turn, contribute to the pollination of both the crops and nearby wild plants when they ...

How quickly do flower strips in cities help the local bees?

Insects rely on a mix of floral resources for survival. Populations of bees, butterflies, and flies are currently rapidly decreasing due to the loss of flower-rich meadows. In order to deal with the widespread loss of fauna, ...

Insect species that prefer crops prosper while majority decline

Many species of flower-visiting insect are in trouble in Britain, according to a new report from the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (CEH) near Oxford, which drew on almost 750,000 observations of insects between 1980 and ...

DNA traces on wild flowers reveal insect visitors

Researchers from Aarhus University, Denmark, have discovered that insects leave tiny DNA traces on the flowers they visit. This newly developed eDNA method holds a vast potential for documenting unknown insect-plant interactions, ...

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