Pollinators are organisms that mediate the transfer of pollen between the male and female reproductive structures of seed plants, thereby enabling sexual reproduction and gene flow within and among plant populations. They encompass a diverse set of taxa, including many insects (notably bees, flies, butterflies, moths, beetles), some vertebrates (such as birds and bats), and other animals that incidentally or actively collect floral resources like nectar and pollen. In ecological and evolutionary research, pollinators are central to studies of plant–animal mutualisms, floral trait adaptation, community assembly, and ecosystem functioning, as well as to analyses of network structure, coevolutionary dynamics, and the stability and resilience of plant–pollinator interaction webs.
A new study by plant biologists at the University of California, Santa Cruz, challenges a longstanding idea that stems from the large number of flowers in the mountains of Central and South America that have evolved to be ...
Evolution
21 hours ago
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The nocturnal mating rituals of hairy scarab beetles are helping pollinate one of Perth's most common native trees, in a discovery that highlights the unusual adaptations of Australian plants and the unexpected pollination ...
Plants & Animals
Jun 3, 2026
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Newly created grassland habitats that compensate for nature lost to development can effectively support wild pollinators like bees and hoverflies, according to a first of its kind study in the Netherlands. The findings are ...
Plants & Animals
Jun 2, 2026
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America's bees and beekeepers are losing a valuable ally just when they need its help most. The U.S. Department of Agriculture plans to soon close the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, a 6,500-acre agricultural research ...
Ecology
May 26, 2026
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Insects are declining across Europe. Czech scientists have determined this decline can be mitigated by returning large ungulates—horses, aurochs cattle, and wisents—to landscapes. This has been shown by a recent study by ...
Plants & Animals
May 26, 2026
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There is not yet much research on the effects of heat waves on bees. What little there is focuses on super extremes of weather that would kill an adult bee.
Ecology
May 26, 2026
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The removal of invasive rodents from Lord Howe Island has triggered a rebound of invertebrate life, with researchers from the University of Sydney and collaborators documenting sharp increases in the abundance of insects ...
Plants & Animals
May 25, 2026
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49
Long before his days of research, Christian Couch was just a kid marveling at the butterflies in the Florida Museum of Natural History's Butterfly Rainforest. Years later, after enrolling as an undergraduate student at the ...
Plants & Animals
May 21, 2026
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Beekeepers and their honeybees can be invaluable participants in environmental surveys, according to a study published in the open-access journal PLOS One by Jennifer Shelton of the UK Center for Ecology & Hydrology and colleagues.
Plants & Animals
May 20, 2026
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What renders a city garden attractive to insects such as solitary bees, bumblebees and hoverflies? And how well do they pollinate plants in urban areas? A study by the Federal Research Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape ...
Plants & Animals
May 20, 2026
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