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Video: This Vibrating Bumblebee Unlocks a Flower’s Hidden Treasure
Most flowering plants are more than willing to spread their pollen around. But some flowers hold out for just the right partner. Bumblebees and other buzz pollinators know just how to handle these stubborn flowers. They vibrate the blooms, shaking them until they give up the nutritious pollen. Find out more about the science of…
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Article About Pollinators
Birds, bats, bees, butterflies, beetles, and other small mammals that pollinate plants are responsible for bringing us one out of every three bites of food. They also sustain our ecosystems and produce our natural resources by helping plants reproduce. Pollinating animals travel from plant to plant carrying pollen on their bodies in a vital interaction…
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Video: Pollinators Under Pressure
Tree Media released a new film, Pollinators Under Pressure, about the plight of pollinators around the world and the actions we can all take to ensure their survival, and that of humans and ecosystems everywhere. Narrated by Academy Award®-winning actor and environmental activist Leonardo DiCaprio, the short film features expert voices and diverse points of…
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Video: PHYSICS GIRL EXPERIMENT- Only some humans can see this type of light
Join Physics girl on a tour of polarized light and learn how to do a simple project to see the invisible.
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Video: Electrostatic charge on hummingbirds and its role in pollination
We found that wild flying hummingbirds have electrostatic charges of up to ~800 pC. Such electrical charges are high enough to produce attraction of floral stamens and floating pollen-size particles.
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BioSTEAM: Make an Interactive Polarized Light Visualizer!
Pollinator eyes are specialized to see wavelengths on the electromagnetic spectrum that we can’t see like ultra violet light that helps them navigate to nectar rich flowers or even prey. Pollinators like bees, butterflies and bats can also see qualities of light that we can’t see with our eyes alone like the light polarization that…
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Article: Why insect populations are plummeting—and why it matters
A new study suggests that 40 percent of insect species are in decline, a sobering finding that has jarred researchers worldwide. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/2019/02/why-insect-populations-are-plummeting-and-why-it-matters/
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Article: Not Just the Birds and Bees – 6 Fast Facts About Pollinating Bats
The birds and the bees may rule the daytime, but as soon as the sun sets, it is the bats that get to work pollinating. Worldwide, over 500 species of flowers in at least 67 plant families rely on bats as their major or exclusive pollinators. Learn more in this National Wildlife Foundation article. https://blog.nwf.org/2014/06/not-just-the-birds-and-bees-6-fast-facts-about-pollinating-bats/
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Article: Desert Bees Have a Secret: How to Survive a Decade of Drought
Bees are most diverse in arid places. Will their strategies hold up in a changing climate — and can we learn enough about them before it’s too late? Find out how desert scientists are researching Southwest bees in this article. https://undark.org/article/desert-bees-new-mexico/
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Video: Show Me Some Science! Polarization of the Sky
Bees are capable of remarkable feats of orientation and navigation; they have a very strong sense of direction. Find out more in this easy experiment.
