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01 Dec '12, 10am

Weaver ants help flowers get the best pollinator: The Singapore rhododendron is the first flower found to recrui...

Weaver ants help flowers get the best pollinator: The Singapore rhododendron is the first flower found to recrui...

MOST flowers don't want pesky ants hanging around scaring away would-be pollinators. Not so the Singapore rhododendron - the first flower found to recruit ants to chase poor pollinators away. Francisco Gonzálvez at EEZA, the arid zone experimental station in Almeria, Spain, and colleagues studied flowers frequented by large carpenter bees (Xylocopa ) and a much smaller solitary bee, Nomia . The larger bees seemed to be better pollinators - setting far more fruit than the smaller bees. The team found that Nomia avoided plants with weaver ant patrols , and when they did dare to land, were chased away or ambushed by the ants. Being so much bigger, carpenter bees weren't troubled by the ants (Journal of Ecology , DOI:10.1111/1365-2745.12006 ). Plants usually produce chemical repellents to scare off insects that prey on their pollinators. But lab tests suggested Gonzálvez's flo...

Full article: http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21628935.400-weaver...

Tweets

Should i get these or are they too much sparkle

uggaustralia.com 02 Dec '12, 5pm

The Classic Glitter pleases with the warmth and comfort of the UGG® Classic Collection. Soft Twinface sheepskin sparkles w...

See @hubbardstreet this week @HarrisTheater-use...

hubbardstreetdance.com 05 Dec '12, 8pm

"I watch a lot of film and theater. And look at a lot of art. But what's important to me most is reading the newspaper, wa...

Coffee Can Help You Land a Job, Get a Date, and Win a Race: Well, coffee, in and of itself, is not going to help...

Coffee Can Help You Land a Job, Get a Date, and...

ineedcoffee.com 30 Nov '12, 4pm

Coffee Can Help You Land a Job, Get a Date, and Win a Race by Joel Sussman Coffee is a fascinating beverage because it is ...