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 decade-long study recently published in the journal Northeastern Naturalist found that 352 wild bee species call Vermont home, with 60% of those species likely in need of conservation action.
Plants & Animals
Nov 4, 2025
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If you're like most well-intentioned gardeners, you might give a lot of thought to planting the "right" plants to nourish pollinators and other wildlife, with nectar, pollen, seeds and fruit. But have you given much thought ...
Ecology
Nov 4, 2025
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Using information on alpine plant species, researchers investigated how the chemistry of flowers' scent affects not only the diversity of insect pollinators but also the communities of bacteria living on the flowers.
Ecology
Oct 22, 2025
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167
Late summer in Lower Franconia: There are hardly any flowering plants left, and food for honey bees is becoming scarce. Researchers at the Biocenter have investigated how bees cope with this situation.
Plants & Animals
Oct 21, 2025
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118
Warming temperatures and earlier snowmelt are disrupting the long-running relationship between wildflowers and their pollinators on Colorado's Pikes Peak.
Plants & Animals
Oct 21, 2025
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The news that native bees are cut from a different cloth has important implications for conservation practices and may also inform the way imported commercial populations are managed.
Evolution
Oct 15, 2025
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Recent research shows that climatic changes to which bumblebee queens are exposed in their early life stages impair their survival and reproductive abilities, which can also have a negative impact on ecosystems and agriculture.
Plants & Animals
Oct 14, 2025
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You might think honeybees are thriving—after all, the honey industry is growing and its bees are well looked after by beekeepers. But not all honeybees live in hives. Across Europe, colonies still live in the wild, nesting ...
Plants & Animals
Oct 13, 2025
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After a semester in a class, most students gain new knowledge, skills and maybe some new friends. For students in Assistant Professor Mitzy Porras' Biology class, several undergraduates also walked away with a peer-reviewed ...
Plants & Animals
Oct 13, 2025
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52
New Curtin University research has found the impact of bushfires and prescribed burns on global bee populations is highly varied, with some species benefiting from fire while others face severe risks.
Plants & Animals
Oct 8, 2025
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