Pollination is the biological process by which pollen grains are transferred from the anthers of a flower (or male reproductive structures) to the stigma of a flower (or female receptive structures), enabling fertilization and subsequent seed and fruit development in seed plants. As a reproductive phenomenon, it can occur via abiotic vectors such as wind and water or via biotic agents including insects, birds, and bats. Pollination encompasses both self- and cross-pollination events, and its efficiency and specificity critically influence gene flow, plant fitness, reproductive isolation, and the structure and dynamics of plant–pollinator interaction networks in ecosystems.
Around 4,000 plant species from different parts of the world secrete nectar outside their flowers, such as on their stems or leaves, through secretory glands known as extrafloral nectaries. Unlike floral nectar, extrafloral ...
Plants & Animals
Sep 15, 2025
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When we think of pollinating insects, bees, butterflies, or flies usually come to mind—but rarely true bugs. Yet it seems that in the past, they also played an important role in plant pollination. A Hungarian research group ...
Paleontology & Fossils
Sep 4, 2025
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For millennia, developing resilient crops relied on pollination by nature or humans—making the process long and often costly. Now, scientists from the Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology (IGDB) of the Chinese ...
Biotechnology
Aug 15, 2025
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Pollinators play a vital role in fertilizing flowers, which grow into seeds and fruits and underpin our agriculture. But climate change can cause a mismatch between plants and their pollinators, affecting where they live ...
Ecology
Aug 11, 2025
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While all seeds produced within a fruit have the same maternal genome, the paternal genomes of seeds can come from the pollen of one or more paternal parents. A common assumption about flowering plants is that the ovules ...
A new paper in Annals of Botany indicates that pollination can have a dramatic effect on how plants grow and change. The study shows that when plants and pollinators become uncoordinated, even for a brief time, they can change ...
Plants & Animals
Aug 6, 2025
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Dikes are indispensable for bees, especially if they are home to many different plant and flower species. A large census conducted on 157 dikes along rivers in the Netherlands revealed that more and rarer bee species live ...
Plants & Animals
Jul 30, 2025
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Researchers at UBC Okanagan have created a mathematical model that captures something remarkable: how a bumblebee colony uses and manages its energy, and what that means for farmers, pollination and the future of sustainable ...
Ecology
Jul 29, 2025
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The majority of Earth's plant species, including our crop plants, rely on the services of animal pollinators in order to reproduce. Honey bees and other pollinating insects annually contribute billions of dollars to the U.S. ...
Plants & Animals
Jul 7, 2025
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A widely-used agricultural chemical sprayed on fruits and vegetables to prevent fungal disease is also killing beneficial insects that play a critical role in pollination and wider ecosystems.
Ecology
Jun 30, 2025
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