Bumblebees' 'Clever Trick' Fools Plants Into Flowering (bbc.com) 29
Scientists found that when deprived of pollen, bumblebees will nibble on the leaves of flowerless plants to trick them into flowering, sometimes up to 30 days earlier than normal. The BBC reports: Writing in the journal Science, the scientists say they have struggled to replicate the bees' trick in the laboratory. Scientists in Switzerland found that when the bees were deprived of pollen, they started to nibble on the leaves of plants that hadn't yet flowered. The bees used their proboscises and mandibles (mouthparts) to cut distinctively-shaped holes in the leaves. But the creatures didn't eat the material or use it in their nests. The damaged plants responded by blooming earlier than normal - in some cases up to 30 days ahead of schedule.
When the researchers tried to emulate the damage done to the plants by the bumblebees they weren't able to achieve the same results. The bee-damaged plants flowered 30 days earlier than undamaged plants and 25 days earlier than ones damaged by the scientists. The research team believes there may be something else going on here apart from nibbles. [...] The researchers say that when pollen is available the bees don't damage plants. They've also found this behavior is in wild bees. However the team are keeping an open mind on whether the plants might be the ones in the driving seat. It could be that some plants have evolved a strategy to push out their flowers when they recognize the bee doing damage to their leaves.
When the researchers tried to emulate the damage done to the plants by the bumblebees they weren't able to achieve the same results. The bee-damaged plants flowered 30 days earlier than undamaged plants and 25 days earlier than ones damaged by the scientists. The research team believes there may be something else going on here apart from nibbles. [...] The researchers say that when pollen is available the bees don't damage plants. They've also found this behavior is in wild bees. However the team are keeping an open mind on whether the plants might be the ones in the driving seat. It could be that some plants have evolved a strategy to push out their flowers when they recognize the bee doing damage to their leaves.
Normal (Score:5, Funny)
"When the researchers tried to emulate the damage done to the plants by the bumblebees they weren't able to achieve the same results. "
Same problem when trying to milk mice, you need, tiny, tiny hands.
Re: (Score:2)
Or the bumblebees have some substance in their spit that makes the plant flower earlier than normal.
Re: (Score:2)
There are probably plenty of other possibilities as well. We might learn a lot of things we didn't know as a result of trying to figure out why this is happening.
Re: Normal (Score:1)
Do you want to see ME naked?
-- Harry Mantits III
Re: (Score:2)
And a very small stool and a little tiny bucket
Mobster tactics - who would have thought? (Score:2)
Re:Mobster tactics - who would have thought? (Score:5, Funny)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: Mobster tactics - who would have thought? (Score:1)
Obligatory Monty Python sketch:
https://www.dailymotion.com/vi... [dailymotion.com]
Re: (Score:2)
I'm pretty sure I saw this acted out by Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield.
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There is no "or else" needed.
How about, "Flower or me and my friends will die because something fucked our (or your) timing this year!"
That should be enough. The flower doesn't know how to have sex, without the bee it gets nothing from life.
Did they sample the bee saliva? (Score:4, Interesting)
Biochemistry is a thing. The plant's reaction to the bee damage could be related to chemicals in the bee's saliva, just as much as it is with the unique pattern of the injury.
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"Biochemistry is a thing. The plant's reaction to the bee damage could be related to chemicals in the bee's saliva, just as much as it is with the unique pattern of the injury."
Cutting 'bloom or else' in bee-speak?
Bumblebees paid attention to advertising (Score:5, Funny)
"Bee gets flowers early with this one weird trick, plants hate him"
Honey, you'll never believe this clever trick bees (Score:1)
Anthropomorphism in bees and plants! (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
and they like it that way!
Coffee (Score:2)
Re: Coffee (Score:1)
Funny, I do that to serfs like you in my company!
-- Friedrich Arthur Tcat, CEO of BigFatCigarAndCowboyHat Corporation.
The researcher's posts about this on Twitter (Score:2)
Are awesome:
We show how #Bumblebees make plants flower earlier - bumblebees are gardening! [twitter.com]
Injecting a chemical? (Score:1)
My guess is that they inject something that triggers it.
I should look for leaf damage (Score:2)
It's been a late spring here, but I'm still seeing bumblebees everywhere, and I haven't seen much for them to eat apart from some scrubby dwarf willow. Wonder if they're going to try to push the thyme, dryas, angelica, meadowsweet, berries, other deciduous trees (birch, etc), etc into early flowering. I hope they don't go after the trees, they're just starting to leaf out.
Re: (Score:2)
If you are concerned, you can always make a couple of feeders for them so they wouldn't have to bother the trees.
Tricks and foolery (Score:2)
a voice in the wilderness (Score:1)
They didn't know! (Score:2)