Monday, June 22, 2026

pollinators

Animal behaviorEcosystems
Julia Bebout

Arthropod Allies in the Atacama Desert: How One Parasitic Plant Promotes its Own Success

Parasitic plants are a bit like vampires; they suck the sap out of other plants. Because of their unusual lifestyle, these plants’ impacts on their community of neighboring plants and animals can be complicated and surprising. A team of researchers in Chile asked an interesting question: Do parasitic plants benefit from the cascading effects they have on their communities of neighboring plants and animals?

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EcosystemsEnvironmental Science
Etienne Herrick

A weed by any other name would smell as sweet: Unsung pollination heroes

Weeds often get a bad rap, but new research suggests we should think twice before pulling them out of our gardens and farm fields. In fact, they may be even more beneficial than wildflower patches. Read on to learn more about how farmers’ and gardeners’ number one enemy – weeds – could actually be pollinators’ number one ally!

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CitiesEcosystemsEnvironmental Science
Julia Bebout

Urban Gardens Provide Stable Nectar Supply for Pollinators

Insect pollinators are in trouble, and many plants on farms or in the wild need them to be able to grow fruits and reproduce. With so much at stake for plants around the world, and the humans who depend on them, how can we stop the decline of insect pollinator populations? Urban gardens may have a role to play in supporting pollinators, especially if we plant flowers that provide a stable supply of nectar, their most important food.

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Animal behavior
Brandi Pessman

Flying on the Edge – Bees use linear features to navigate

Ever noticed how straight roads or the edges of crop fields are? Humans love turning naturally curvy land into straight lines. While land modification poses significant threats to many animals, some can take advantage of these changes. A new study found that bumble bees exploit human-made lines and edges to navigate to food sources. Taking the path most traveled may make all the difference for these bees.

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CitiesEcosystems
Brandi Pessman

It’s Complicated: Plant-pollinator relationships differ from urban to rural areas

Flowers and the butterflies they attract are beautiful additions to any yard, but your garden is serving a greater purpose. Pollinators – including butterflies, moths, bees, and wasps – depend on plants for survival and are essential for plant reproduction. Plant-pollinator relationships are especially important for agriculture and our food supply. Cities pose many challenges for both plants and their pollinators which could strain their relationship. Find out how cities put pressure on plant-pollinator relationships and what you can do to help!

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Environmental ScienceHuman Exposure and Public Health
Mary Davis

April Showers Bring… Allergies

Depending on where you live, springtime pollen allergies can be as reliable as April showers. Researchers at the University of Iowa have found that even though rain might decrease the pollen count, it can still exacerbate pollen allergies, due to an increase in grain rupture.

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EcosystemsEnvironmental Science
Abigail Bezrutczyk

The Cows and the Bees

In the age of the sixth extinction, we need to think carefully about how we use our land– especially when different land uses are at odds. As a way to advance conservation, researchers in Israel examined “land sharing” of rangelands: a way of using land to benefit agriculture and biodiversity alike.

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Case StudiesEcosystemsEnvironmental Science
Pernilla Borgstrom

The Hunger Gaps: when flower supply fails to meet bee demand

Wild bees are indispensable pollen-transporters that support and maintain diverse plant communities in nature, but in discussions about the well-being of bees, they tend to lose the spotlight to their honeybee cousins. One issue where both wild bees and honeybees are struggling, however, is in facing the lack of food continuity throughout the growing season. Mapping the “hunger gaps” for foraging bees, and working to close such gaps, is a key issue for bee conservation.

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