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.
New research published in NeoBiota has found that the Western honey bee—an introduced species to Australia—and the devastating, invasive plant fungus known as myrtle rust (Austropuccinia psidii) may have formed a mutually ...
Plants & Animals
May 20, 2026
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Every bumble bee colony has a queen, but a new study led by researchers at Penn State suggests the process of determining which baby bee reigns supreme may be less monarchal than the royal title suggests. The study, published ...
Ecology
May 18, 2026
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21
Being a single mother of 20 is no joke, especially if the survival of a whole species depends on it. A queen bumblebee faces this very challenge when she lays her first eggs in the spring: She is utterly alone, with no worker ...
Plants & Animals
May 18, 2026
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30
Most Americans tend to think about bats only around Halloween, but the U.S. economy benefits from these furry flying mammals every day.
Ecology
May 14, 2026
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Many male hoverflies have bigger eyes than females, giving them the advantage of better optics and faster photoreceptors in high-speed pursuits to find a preferred partner to breed.
Plants & Animals
May 14, 2026
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7
As married research professors at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Dustin Gilbert and Anne Murray often discuss their work once they get home each night. Their fields of study rarely crossover. That changed six years ...
Evolution
May 13, 2026
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147
The deadliest animals are not lions, spiders or snakes, but the tiny mosquitoes that suck our blood, make us itchy and infect us with disease.
Ecology
May 12, 2026
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Scientists from Trinity and Technical University of Denmark have developed a new radar-based technique that could address a critical gap in global conservation efforts, by transforming how we identify and track the insects ...
Ecology
May 9, 2026
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53
New research finds that higher temperatures can actually benefit some bumble bee species—particularly those that make subterranean nests. However, periods of extreme heat appear to offset those benefits, and may contribute ...
Plants & Animals
May 6, 2026
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11
Biodiversity loss is directly threatening human health and welfare, according to new research led by the University of Bristol. The study, published in Nature reveals, for the first time, how the decline of insect pollinators ...
Ecology
May 6, 2026
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