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pollinators

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Pollinators are animals—such as bees, butterflies, birds, and other insects—that transfer pollen from a flower's anther to its stigma, enabling fertilization and seed production. This process underpins plant reproductive success and genetic diversity, making pollinator research essential for understanding plant-animal coevolution, breeding systems, and reproductive ecology. Studying these interactions also sheds light on how environmental changes and habitat loss can disrupt plant populations that depend on animal-mediated pollination.

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pollinators
PubMed → · research article

Toxic effects induced by individual and combined exposures of glyph...

Every time you spray a glyphosate-based weed killer near flowering plants, the unlisted ingredien...

pollinators
PubMed → · research article

High temporal resolution pollen analysis: New insights into current...

The wildflowers you're encouraging along your fence line or garden edge may already be carrying p...

pollinators
PubMed → · research article

Behavioral and neurophysiological evaluation of pyrethroid effects ...

Every time you spray a pyrethroid insecticide (many common garden bug-killers) near blooming plan...

pollinators
PubMed → · research article

Chemical residues in declining commercial honey bee colonies.

Every squash, cucumber, and berry in your garden depends on honeybees making it through the seaso...

pollinators
PubMed → · research article

Larval deltamethrin exposure causes severe cross-stage carryover to...

If you grow fruit trees or keep a pollinator garden, the mason bees you're counting on to set you...

pollinators
Europe PMC → · research article

Heat quietly breaks flower-bee teamwork even when timing stays synced

The bees buzzing around your garden beds this spring could still show up right on schedule with y...

phenology
PubMed → · research article

Arctic plants are blooming closer together, squeezing wildlife food...

The staggered bloom schedule that feeds Arctic insects, nesting shorebirds, and grazing caribou a...

iNaturalist → · observation

Milkweed is blooming now and monarchs are counting on every patch

Common milkweed blooming in your yard right now is monarch butterfly habitat, and every patch you...

pollinators
Europe PMC → · research article

Heat waves leave bumblebees unable to find flowers by scent

Every summer vegetable and fruit in your garden depends on pollinators finding flowers, and heat ...

pollinators
Europe PMC → · research article

Pollinators pick sun or shade strategically, and that choice shapes...

Adding a patch of shade plants or a sun-trap shrub to your garden may do more for bees and butter...

pollinators
PubMed → · research article

Most European bee species are shrinking in range, not disappearing

The bees and hoverflies pollinating your tomatoes, squash, and fruit trees are losing ground acro...

pollinators
PubMed → · research article

Healthier honeybee hives mean fewer viruses on nearby flowers and wild bees

The flowers in your garden act as shared dining tables where a virus from a neighbor's hives can ...

pollinators
Europe PMC → · research article

Leafcutter bees and their leaf resources: ecology, behavior, and co...

Planting the right leafy shrubs and perennials in your yard could directly support leafcutter bee...

Europe PMC → · research article

Honeybee pollination enhances pollen germination, pollen tube growt...

Letting honeybees work your pear tree rather than hand-pollinating isn't just easier — the bees t...

pollinators
PubMed → · research article

Insect declines: challenges and solutions.

Without bees, beetles, and flies visiting your vegetable beds and fruit trees, harvests shrink—an...

pollinators
PubMed → · research article

Global decline in pollination limitation of pollinator-dependent crops.

That hollow spot on your squash vine where a fruit aborted and shriveled? Across 86 crops and 70 ...

pollinators
PubMed → · research article

Automating pollinator identification using artificial intelligence ...

Every bee photo you snap and upload to a nature app could soon be automatically identified by AI,...

pollinators
Europe PMC → · research article

Herbaria unlock tripartite pollination responses to anthropogenic change.

The wild bees visiting your garden flowers are also delivering yeasts and bacteria that alter the...

pollinators
PubMed → · research article

The Growing Challenge of Varroa destructor Resistance to Acaricides...

Every third bite of food in your garden — squash, cucumbers, berries, apples — depends on bees th...

pollinators
PubMed → · research article

Summer heat forces bumble bees to fan nests instead of gather food

The bumble bees visiting your garden flowers may be one season away from colony collapse if they'...

pollinators
PubMed → · research article

Queen bees transfer pesticide buildup into eggs when workers are ov...

Every tomato, apple, and squash in your garden depends on bees that are quietly absorbing pestici...

PubMed → · research article

Warming springs push female katsura trees to sync with males

The katsura tree lining your local botanical garden or arboretum blooms in a narrow window each s...

iNaturalist → · observation

Common milkweed blooming across eastern North America in record numbers

Milkweed in your yard or neighborhood right now is the only plant monarch butterfly caterpillars ...

Europe PMC → · research article

Dead bees trapped in milkweed flowers drive away other pollinators

The milkweed you plant for monarchs depends on pollinators to set seed, and trapped dead honey be...

crop-improvement
PubMed → · research article

Diverse crop fields let predator bugs outpace pest insects

If you plant a mixed vegetable bed instead of a single crop, you're likely stacking the odds towa...

pollinators
Europe PMC → · research article

Common farm pesticides quietly weaken bee colonies, not just kill them

The bees visiting your tomato flowers or apple blossoms can survive a pesticide exposure and stil...

pollinators
PubMed → · research article

First direct quantification of floral handling costs in bees.

Every tomato, blueberry, or eggplant you grow that needs 'shaking' to release pollen depends on b...

pollinators
PubMed → · research article

Post-Application Fate and Transformation of Imidacloprid Insecticid...

Every bee, ground beetle, and butterfly that visits your garden is potentially exposed to imidacl...

iNaturalist → · observation

Trending: Virginia strawberry (Fragaria virginiana) — 441 observati...

Wild strawberry patches threading through your lawn or meadow edge aren't weeds — they're a groun...

plant-signaling
pollinators
PubMed → · research article

Climate, not location, drives pollinator pickiness worldwide

The bees, hummingbirds, or moths visiting your garden are shaped by local temperature and rainfal...

pollinators
PubMed → · research article

Cardboard tubes in bee hotels invite the most parasites

If you've put up a bee hotel to help native pollinators, the material you chose and how often you...

pollinators
PubMed → · research article

Anthropogenic stressors drive microbiome assembly: A global meta-an...

Every strawberry, tomato, and squash in your garden depends on bumble bees that may be quietly lo...

PubMed → · research article

"Pollen diets influence gut microbiota composition and colony devel...

Every wildflower you leave standing at the edge of your garden is a vote for the gut health of na...

rewilding
PubMed → · research article

Potential to fund arable rewilding in England with biodiversity credits.

Wildflower-rich rewilded land hosts 56% more rare invertebrate species and a third more pollinato...

pollinators
PubMed → · research article

Toxicity of λ-cyhalothrin and fenpyroximate on Nannotrigona testace...

Every squash, tomato, or berry in your garden depends on bees you've probably never noticed—sting...

pollinators
PubMed → · research article

Trait Dataset for 3,000 European Wild Bee and Hoverfly Species.

Every flower in your garden that sets fruit or seed depends on pollinators whose populations are ...

iNaturalist → · observation

Trending: common yarrow (Achillea millefolium) — 1044 observations ...

Yarrow blooming in your yard or along your fence line is a free pollinator buffet — its flat-topp...

pollinators
PubMed → · research article

Biases and blind spots in the global research agenda on metallic po...

Lead and cadmium from contaminated soil can move through pollen and nectar into the bees visiting...

PubMed → · research article

Morphological and phenological matching shape functional heteranthery.

If you grow crape myrtles and wonder why big bumblebee-sized carpenter bees seem to 'fit' the flo...

(c) Tom Norton · Vermont, United States · CC BY
pollinators
PubMed → · research article

Bee declines haven't dragged down global crop yields yet

The tomatoes and squash in your garden may still set fruit fine even as native bee sightings dwin...

pollinators
PubMed → · research article

From individuals to networks: The role of variation in plant-pollin...

The bumblebees visiting your garden aren't interchangeable — some handle heat waves better, some ...

PubMed → · research article

Orchid bee diversity responds positively to forest cover and landsc...

Orchid bees are the sole pollinators of many tropical orchid species, so the forest patches and b...

iNaturalist → · observation

Trending: tufted vetch (Vicia cracca) — 367 observations this week

Tufted vetch scrambling through your hedgerows or meadow edges is actively fixing nitrogen into t...

pollinators
Europe PMC → · research article

Managed-bee supplementation may drive parasite-mediated exclusion o...

Every squash, blueberry, and apple in your garden depends on wild bees that honeybee hives — if p...

pollinators
Europe PMC → · research article

Never underestimate honeybees: Their exceptionally diverse adaptive...

Every third bite of food in your garden — squash, tomatoes, berries — depends on bees whose colon...

pollinators
PubMed → · research article

A single hot afternoon quietly steals bumblebees' ability to father...

Every tomato, squash, and berry in your garden depends on bumblebees completing their life cycle,...

PubMed → · research article

Bloom timing shapes how a bumblebee gut parasite spreads between flowers

The wild bergamot blooming in your pollinator garden isn't just pretty - when it peaks relative t...

PubMed → · research article

Rice detects planthopper spit and fights back

Rice feeds more than half the world's population, and this discovery of a natural defense trigger...

pollinators
PubMed → · research article

Wild bumblebees in Turkey carry the same viruses decimating honeybe...

Every third bite of food you eat depends on a pollinator, and the bumblebees doing much of that w...

urban-ecology
PubMed → · research article

Havana's urban farmers can out-plant pollinator losses from paving

If you tend a city plot or community garden, this shows that packing in more blooms can buffer yo...

iNaturalist → · observation

The "weed" in your lawn is quietly feeding thousands of bumblebees

Selfheal is almost certainly already growing in your lawn or garden path and most people pull it ...

iNaturalist → · observation

Yarrow's 1,100 sightings this week mark peak pollinator season

Yarrow blooming in your yard or along roadsides right now is a reliable signal that summer pollin...

iNaturalist → · observation

Black-eyed Susans are at peak bloom and feeding pollinators now

Black-eyed Susans blooming in your yard or along a roadside right now are feeding the specialist ...

iNaturalist → · observation

Tufted vetch fixes free nitrogen from air wherever it scrambles

Tufted vetch scrambling through your meadow or roadside verge is quietly pulling nitrogen from th...

(c) Heidi Meudt · Araucanía, Chile · CC BY
Europe PMC → · research article

Fig trees and wasps recognize each other through precisely matched ...

If you grow a common fig at home or spot one fruiting in a garden, you're watching a chemical con...

pollinators
Europe PMC → · research article

Losing specialist pollinators reshuffles who visits which plants ac...

The bees and birds that visit your garden aren't interchangeable; lose even one specialist specie...

iNaturalist → · observation

Black-eyed Susan peaks with 1,000 sightings logged in one week

Black-eyed Susan blooming at this scale signals that your local meadow or sunny border is enterin...

iNaturalist → · observation

Yarrow blooms draw hundreds of citizen scientists into the field

Common yarrow growing along your fence line or in a neglected corner of your yard is actively bei...

pollinators
PubMed → · research article

Computer-predicted scents keep foraging honey bees away from treated crops

Honey bees visiting your flowering vegetables, orchard trees, and herb beds could someday be stee...

pollinators
PubMed → · research article

Night lighting swaps out moths for flies in mountain meadows

The porch light or streetlamp you leave on doesn't just attract a few moths to your window, it ca...

PubMed → · research article

Hidden canopy bee in Fiji lost 99% of its population

The tiny pollinators working the treetops you never look up at are vanishing just as fast as the ...

phenology
PubMed → · research article

Extreme weather throws plants and butterflies off schedule differen...

The butterflies you spot drinking nectar in your garden depend on flowers blooming at the right m...

pollinators
PubMed → · research article

Wild bees stick to the same pollen diet every year

The mix of flowers you plant determines which bees can actually get the protein and fat they need...

pollinators
Europe PMC → · research article

Nighttime lighting rewires which flowers bees and moths actually visit

If you've got a porch light or streetlamp near your garden, it may be quietly steering which flow...

Europe PMC → · research article

Coated rice seeds poison bees worse than pesticide sprays do

The honey in your pantry and the bees pollinating your garden are exposed to pesticide residues t...

PubMed → · research article

Mechanistic Model for Simulating Pesticide Uptake into Maize Pollen.

Every bee that visits a corn tassel in a treated field is picking up whatever chemicals traveled ...

pollinators
Europe PMC → · research article

Why your best orchard pollinator is hard to farm at scale

The blue orchard mason bee nesting in that bee house on your fence does more pollination work per...

PubMed → · research article

Old Lineage, New Insights: Phenology, pollination and reproductive ...

If you've watched hummingbirds work a garden and wondered which wild plants depend on them most d...

pollinators
PubMed → · research article

Mixing two common pesticides makes them deadlier to honeybees

If you plant a pollinator garden or grow fruit that depends on bees, this study shows the insecti...

pollinators
PubMed → · research article

Night shift pollinators make plant networks tougher than we thought

The moths and other night visitors working your garden after dark aren't a separate cast of chara...

PubMed → · research article

Cowslip flower types diverge in germination rates and stress tolerance

Which cowslip flower type you collect seed from affects how well those seeds sprout, and because ...

pollinators
PubMed → · research article

Australia's 2,000 unique native bees remain largely unstudied and u...

If you've ever watched a tiny, unfamiliar bee working flowers in your Australian garden, there's ...

pollinators
PubMed → · research article

Common pesticides quietly stress stingless bees without killing them

The stingless bees pollinating tomatoes, peppers, and native flowering plants in tropical and sub...

PubMed → · research article

Weedy flowers help bees more than planted strips do

If you tend a berry patch or fruit orchard, leaving the 'weeds' between rows alone may do more fo...

PubMed → · research article

Passionflower's citrus perfume vanishes 90% by mid-morning

If you've ever wondered why some flowers smell strongest at certain times of day, this passionflo...

PubMed → · research article

Genetic trade-offs quietly limit how fast a weed can adapt

The weedy morning glory vining through fences and overgrown gardens shows that even fast-evolving...

pollinators
PubMed → · research article

AI reads citizen science notes to map who eats and pollinates whom

The next time you snap a photo of a bee on your coneflowers and jot a comment about it, that offh...

pollinators
Europe PMC → · research article

Rare alpine flowers survive by sharing pollinators with common look-alikes

That uncommon wildflower you spot on a mountain hike may only persist because it evolved flowers ...

pollinators
Europe PMC → · research article

Where flowers grow shapes which pollinators find them

The scattered layout of flowers in your garden, not just the flower type, influences which bees a...

iNaturalist → · observation

American basketflower (Plectocephalus americanus) observed in Kelle...

American basketflower draws native bees and butterflies to North Texas roadsides and meadows — sp...

(c) Andrew Lai · Ontario, Canada · CC BY
PubMed → · research article

Drones collect insect DNA from crops to track farm biodiversity

The hedgerow or wildflower strip bordering a farm field you pass on a walk may be doing more for ...

plant-signaling
Europe PMC → · research article

Sexual selection in plants and animals: toward a unified framework.

Every flower in your garden is running a hidden competition: which pollen grain wins the race to ...

pollinators
PubMed → · research article

Gut microbiome composition and cellulolytic bacteria associated wit...

Carpenter bees tunneling through the dead wood in your garden fence or log pile may carry gut bac...

pollinators
PubMed → · research article

Bees and bumblebees are the top microbe couriers for flowers

Every bee that visits your garden flowers is also shuttling invisible microbial passengers that c...

iNaturalist → · observation

wild bergamot (Monarda fistulosa) observed in Franklin County, KY, USA

Wild bergamot is one of the best native plants you can add to a sunny garden border — it blooms m...

Europe PMC → · research article

Salty soil makes bees pickier about which tomato plants to visit

If you grow tomatoes in soil with any salt buildup, from coastal gardens to over-fertilized beds,...

bioRxiv → · preprint

Local genetic neighbourhoods but resilient gene flow across anthrop...

Red campion's hot-pink flowers blooming along roadsides and hedgerows near your home are quietly ...

soil-health
PubMed → · research article

Garden insecticides quietly reshuffle the bacteria living in soil

The soil under your vegetable beds or lawn hosts a bacterial community that keeps nutrients cycli...

pollinators
PubMed → · research article

Evolutionary Footprint: A Systemic Indicator in Evolution, Ecology ...

When bees and other pollinators disappear from your neighborhood, the wildflowers left behind don...

iNaturalist → · observation

wild bergamot (Monarda fistulosa) observed in Tennessee, US

Wild bergamot growing in Tennessee roadsides and meadows is a magnet for native bees, hummingbird...

Europe PMC → · research article

Fruit tree netting blocks pests but also drives away pollinators

The netted apple, cherry, or nut orchard you pass on a drive through farm country is quietly cutt...

Better soil bacteria partners help caterpillars survive more than f...

The clover and legumes in your yard rely on underground bacterial partners whose quality, not jus...

rewilding
PubMed → · research article

Returning burrowing mammals to reserves reshapes which insects surv...

The burrowing animals that once turned over soil across Australia did for insects what a garden f...

pollinators
PubMed → · research article

Bee gut parasite was hiding in island colonies decades before scien...

Every third bite of food you eat exists because a bee visited a flower first, and the parasites q...

plant-signaling
PubMed → · research article

These bacteria trick plants into luring their own insect spreaders

That witch's-broom-looking cluster of stunted, bushy growth on a garden shrub or roadside tree co...

PubMed → · research article

Tiny stingless bees make chili pepper plants more productive

If you grow peppers on a balcony or in a backyard bed, the tiny native bees buzzing around the fl...

iNaturalist → · observation

Common milkweed confirmed growing near Ottawa's Lac des Chats

Milkweed is the only plant monarch caterpillars can eat, so knowing where it grows naturally poin...

iNaturalist → · observation

Tufted vetch blooms draw hundreds of citizen-science observers this week

The dense purple flower clusters of tufted vetch attract bumblebees specifically, and spotting it...

iNaturalist → · observation

Wild bergamot is blooming everywhere and pollinators are noticing

If you've got a patch of dry, sunny ground you don't know what to do with, wild bergamot fills it...

iNaturalist → · observation

Milkweed sightings are spiking as bloom season peaks

The milkweed patch you've been letting grow wild in the back corner of your yard is exactly what ...

Europe PMC → · research article

This flower blasts citrus scent only at dawn for bees

If you've ever wondered why some flowers in your garden seem fragrant one moment and scentless th...

plant-signaling
Europe PMC → · research article

Chewed-up flowers still smell fine enough to attract pollinators

The flowers in your garden that get nibbled by beetles or caterpillars are likely still calling i...

Europe PMC → · research article

Wildfires let two flower shapes take turns winning

If you've ever wondered why a burned hillside bounces back with a wild mix of flower shapes, this...

Europe PMC → · research article

Phylogenetic history shapes the composition of floral scents in a s...

Next time you walk past a strangler fig or spot a weeping fig in a botanic garden, know that its ...

iNaturalist → · observation

Wild bergamot is blooming everywhere right now, and people are noticing

If you've got bees, hummingbirds, or swallowtails visiting your yard this week, wild bergamot's l...

pollinators
Europe PMC → · research article

Ecological change may be a common initiator of evolutionary pollina...

Every time a gardener notices that bees have stopped visiting a plant that once buzzed with them,...

pollinators
PubMed → · research article

Bees that cut leaves for nests need better plant menus

If you've ever spotted neat, circular holes punched into your rose or redbud leaves, that's a lea...

iNaturalist → · observation

Bee-loved native wildflower is popping up everywhere right now

If you've got a patch of purple, shaggy-flowered blooms buzzing with bees and hummingbird moths a...

iNaturalist → · observation

Fireweed sightings are surging across the country right now

If you've hiked a burned-over hillside or a recent clear-cut this summer, that tall spike of pink...

plant-signaling
PubMed → · research article

Plants use four coordinated tactics to fend off hungry insects

The tomato plant that suddenly smells sharper after aphids arrive, or the oak leaves that toughen...

Europe PMC → · research article

A leafcutting bee shows promise as a sunflower pollinator

If you grow sunflowers or any Asteraceae-family plants in your garden, the pollinator working you...

pollinators
Europe PMC → · research article

Hummingbirds are swallowing plastic fibers from nectar and air

The hummingbird feeder in your backyard draws the same birds now shown to carry plastic fibers in...

iNaturalist → · observation

eastern redbud (Cercis canadensis) observed in Westover Rd, Shippen...

Eastern redbud is one of the earliest native trees to bloom each spring, offering a burst of mage...

iNaturalist → · observation

white oak (Quercus alba) observed in Loves Park, IL, US

White oaks in your region support over 500 species of caterpillars and moths, making a single mat...

(c) Andrew Lai · Ontario, Canada · CC BY
iNaturalist → · observation

common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) observed in Chatmoss, VA, USA

Common milkweed growing in Chatmoss means monarch butterflies have a potential breeding and necta...

iNaturalist → · observation

Gardeners are spotting monarch-friendly milkweed everywhere this week

If you've got a patch of common milkweed in your yard or spot its pink flower clusters on a walk,...

PubMed → · research article

Petunia's color genes also steer its scent and heat tolerance

If you've ever noticed that some petunias smell stronger or sweeter than others nearby, this is a...

pollinators
Europe PMC → · research article

Buzz strength, not buzz complexity, shakes pollen loose from flowers

If you grow tomatoes, peppers, or blueberries, the bees doing the real work are the ones that sha...

PubMed → · research article

Boosting one rice gene creates a natural pest-repelling scent

The rice on your plate might one day need fewer pesticides thanks to a single gene that lets the ...

pollinators
PubMed → · research article

Fungal pest-control product harms stingless bee gut and movement

If you rely on native bees to pollinate garden crops or wild plants nearby, this study is a remin...

iNaturalist → · observation

This white wildflower is blooming everywhere right now

If you spot clusters of small white daisy-like flowers along woodland edges or damp meadows this ...

pollinators
PubMed → · research article

Bee-safe pesticide dulls bees' sense of smell slightly

The bees pollinating your garden's tomatoes and squash rely on smell to find the right flowers, a...

iNaturalist → · observation

Common milkweed sightings are surging on nature apps right now

If you've got a patch of milkweed in your yard or spotted one on a trail, this is the week its se...

pollinators
PubMed → · research article

Airborne plastic dust may be scrambling insects' sense of smell

The bees and butterflies visiting your garden rely on scent to find flowers, and this review show...

Ira Gershenhorn · New York, United States · CC0
iNaturalist → · observation

White snakeroot is blooming across U.S. woodlands and drawing stead...

The frothy white flowers lighting up your shady woodland edges this week are white snakeroot, a l...

Becky Dill · North Carolina, United States · CC0
iNaturalist → · observation

Tall goldenrod sightings surge as fall bloom peaks across the US

The golden plumes lining roadsides and meadows right now are a late-season buffet for native bees...

iNaturalist → · observation

Frost aster is blooming across the US, and sightings are climbing fast

The small white asters lining roadsides and meadow edges this week are frost aster, one of the la...

iNaturalist → · observation

Calico aster sightings jump 43% across Canada as fall bloom peaks

The small white asters lighting up woodland edges and shady garden corners right now are calico a...

iNaturalist → · observation

Panicled aster is blooming across Canada and users are logging it e...

The white-flowered aster along your trail or roadside is a late-season nectar source for migratin...

(c) Dinesh Valke · CC BY-SA
pollinators
Europe PMC → · research article

Bee pollen stores hold hidden microbes shaped by habitat diversity

The wildflower patches and diverse plantings in your yard aren't just feeding bees directly, they...

iNaturalist → · observation

Gardeners are spotting monarch's favorite plant everywhere this week

If you've got milkweed in your yard or spot it on a walk, you're looking at the only plant monarc...

pollinators
PubMed → · research article

Vertical stratification and seasonality of fruit-feeding butterfly ...

Fruit-bearing trees in dry forests depend on butterflies to signal ecosystem health — when canopy...

pollinators
Europe PMC → · research article

Africa's tiny stingless bees remain a scientific mystery worth solving

If you keep bees or garden for pollinators, these stingless species quietly pollinate crops and w...

pollinators
PubMed → · research article

Honey bee gut bacteria carry resistance genes nationwide

The bees pollinating your tomatoes, squash, and fruit trees are quietly accumulating antibiotic r...

PubMed → · research article

Cadmium pollution makes a rice pest easier to kill

If you grow rice or care about how farmers manage pesticide use near contaminated soils, this sho...

soil-health
PubMed → · research article

Experts narrow dozens of biodiversity metrics down to nine for farmers

The hedgerow, wildflower strip, or crop variety mix on a nearby farm could be measured against a ...

plant-signaling
PubMed → · research article

Plants and insects wage a hidden chemical tug-of-war

The aphids or caterpillars nibbling your tomatoes and roses aren't just eating; their spit is act...

plant-signaling
PubMed → · research article

How plants evolved thousands of scent and defense chemicals

The smell of crushed tomato leaves, the sharp scent of pine sap on your hands, and the bitter def...

PubMed → · research article

Butterflies lost a gene and lost their chemical flexibility

The passionflower vines climbing a trellis in your garden are locked in a chemical arms race with...

pollinators
Europe PMC → · research article

Why related flowers evolve totally different looks for pollinators

The reason a bee-pollinated flower and its hummingbird-pollinated cousin can look nothing alike c...

PubMed → · research article

How flowers time pollen release down to the hour

The bees and other pollinators visiting your garden depend on flowers opening their pollen sacs a...

phenology
PubMed → · research article

Recovering mined forests can out-produce old growth in food for wildlife

If you've ever wondered whether a replanted woodlot or reclaimed lot can really support birds and...

iNaturalist → · observation

Fireweed sightings are spiking on nature apps this week

The tall pink spikes popping up along trails, roadsides, and recently burned or disturbed ground ...

pollinators
Europe PMC → · research article

Plant family trees reveal ancient climate's fingerprint on pollinators

The bumblebees buzzing your garden squash and the moths visiting your evening primrose evolved th...

climate-adaptation
PubMed → · research article

Climate change hits food supply through four connected pathways

The tomatoes struggling in your backyard during a heat wave or the aphid explosion on your roses ...

plant-signaling
Europe PMC → · research article

Remembering the botanist who redefined how plants and insects evolv...

The idea that butterflies and the plants they eat shaped each other over millions of years, an id...

PubMed → · research article

Single gene controls the fatty, colorful coating on pollen

The dusty coating on pollen you see on bees and windowsills isn't just mess, it's a carefully eng...

(c) Tom Norton · Vermont, United States · CC BY
pollinators
PubMed → · research article

Women know pollinators best but rarely lead conservation efforts

The person who notices exactly when a squash blossom opens or when bees are working a hedgerow is...

PubMed → · research article

Bushier soybean plants make pest-control wasps far less effective

If you release beneficial insects in a vegetable patch or orchard, this shows the plant's own sha...

PubMed → · research article

Winter moths don't genetically tune themselves to specific oak trees

The oak in your yard and its resident caterpillars might not be as finely matched as nature docum...

iNaturalist → · observation

Cardinal flower sightings surge as its red blooms peak

If you've got a damp, part-shady spot near a stream, pond edge, or rain garden, this tall red wil...

pollinators
PubMed → · research article

Ethanol soak detects pesticides in bees without dissecting them

The bees working your garden flowers could be carrying pesticide residues you'd never see, and th...

PubMed → · research article

This weed hides most of itself underground to survive

If you've ever tried to pull a stubborn weed only to have it return weeks later, this plant's str...

iNaturalist → · observation

This striking blue wildflower is blooming everywhere right now

If you've got a damp spot in your yard where nothing else thrives, this native perennial blooms e...

iNaturalist → · observation

This fuzzy white wildflower is popping up everywhere right now

If you spot papery white flower clusters with yellow centers along a dry trail or roadside this w...

crop-improvement

Plant compounds and nanotech team up to fight crop pests

The tomatoes and herbs you grow at home could one day be protected by pest sprays made from plant...

PubMed → · research article

This corn gene releases a scent that fights caterpillars

The corn growing in home gardens and farm fields relies on genes like this one to release invisib...

plant-signaling
PubMed → · research article

Sticky aphid droppings host a secret microbial ecosystem

That shiny, sticky coating you wipe off your car or patio under a tree is honeydew from aphids or...

crop-improvement
PubMed → · research article

Protein-based pesticides could target pests without harming other insects

The bees and ladybugs working your garden could survive future pest control efforts if these prec...

pollinators
PubMed → · research article

Bees' breath can reveal hidden infections, new sensor shows

If you keep bees or just want the ones in your yard to survive, a device that smells disease befo...

iNaturalist → · observation

This striking blue wildflower is blooming everywhere right now

If you've got a damp, part-shaded corner of your yard or walk near a creek, this is peak season t...

iNaturalist → · observation

This native wildflower is blooming everywhere right now

If you've noticed clusters of small white flowers along roadsides, ditches, or the edge of your y...

iNaturalist → · observation

This purple fall wildflower is popping up everywhere right now

If you spot a cluster of purple, daisy-like flowers with yellow centers along a trail or in an un...

PubMed → · research article

A single scent gene switches mosquitoes from flowers to blood

The lantana bush blooming in your yard isn't just pretty, it's a mosquito buffet, and understandi...

soil-health
PubMed → · research article

Common fungicide harms earthworms' gut health and reproduction

The earthworms tilling and aerating your garden soil right now could be quietly poisoned by a fun...

pollinators
PubMed → · research article

Native European honey bees are vanishing fast in some countries

The bees pollinating your tomatoes and apple trees aren't all the same, and swapping out locally ...

iNaturalist → · observation

New England aster is blanketing meadows and roadsides right now

That burst of purple you're seeing along trails and in unmowed ditches is a critical late-season ...

seed-saving
PubMed → · research article

Ants, beetles and snails help scatter seeds too

The ants and beetles crawling through your garden mulch might be carrying seeds in their gut to a...

iNaturalist → · observation

Black-eyed Susans are blooming everywhere right now, data shows

If you've noticed bright yellow daisy-like flowers popping up along trails and roadsides lately, ...

iNaturalist → · observation

Fireweed's pink blooms are lighting up nature apps right now

If you spot a tall spike of magenta flowers blooming from the bottom up along a trail, roadside, ...

iNaturalist → · observation

New England aster sightings surge as fall bloom peaks

If you've got a patch of these purple daisies holding on in a field or roadside near you, you're ...

Becky Dill · North Carolina, United States · CC0
iNaturalist → · observation

Goldenrod sightings drop as bloom season starts fading

If you've been seeing fields of yellow goldenrod along roadsides and in meadows, this late-season...

Agnes Trekker · Tai Po, Hong Kong · CC0
iNaturalist → · observation

violet woodsorrel (Oxalis violacea) observed in Kentucky, US

Violet woodsorrel thriving in Kentucky meadows and open woodlands signals healthy native ground c...

plant-signaling
PubMed → · research article

Predators sniff out prey using leaked chemical scent trails

The ladybugs, parasitic wasps, and other natural pest-killers patrolling your garden are followin...

iNaturalist → · observation

This tiny purple flower is popping up in yards everywhere

That low, purple-flowered plant sneaking into your lawn between mowings isn't a weed to spray, it...

iNaturalist → · observation

Common milkweed sightings surge as monarch season peaks

The tall, pink-flowered weed you might have yanked from a garden bed is the only plant monarch ca...

native-plants
PubMed → · research article

Plant traits can predict extinction risk from habitat fragmentation

If you've ever wondered why some wildflower patches in a fragmented woodlot thrive while others q...

pollinators
Europe PMC → · research article

DNA pollen testing shows which flowers bees need after wildfires

If you're replanting a burned slope or a fire-prone hillside near your home, knowing which specif...

phytoremediation
PubMed → · research article

Newly found soil bacterium breaks down bee-harming pesticide fast

The neonicotinoid residue that lingers in soil long after it's sprayed is one reason bees and oth...

pollinators
PubMed → · research article

Asian bumblebees turn out to be a genetically distinct group

The bumblebee bumbling through your tomato blossoms belongs to a species whose Asian relatives ca...

pollinators
Europe PMC → · research article

Amber-trapped bee reveals ancient pollen-carrying trick and a hitchhiker

The leaf-cutter bees nesting in your garden's bee hotel today carry pollen the same dry, compacte...

urban-ecology

City botanical gardens act as bird sanctuaries in Ethiopia

The layering of trees, shrubs, and flowering plants in a garden determines whether you'll spot in...

PubMed → · research article

Wildflowers shorten their bloom time when pollinators visit more often

If you've noticed some blooms in your garden fade fast while others linger for days, pollinator v...

iNaturalist → · observation

fireweed (Chamaenerion angustifolium) observed in Glace Bay, NS B1A...

Fireweed is one of the first plants to colonize disturbed ground — if you're restoring a bare pat...

pollinators
PubMed → · research article

Hidden viruses in traded insects may quietly harm wild pollinator colonies

Bees, beetles, and other insects pollinating your garden or producing your honey may carry hidden...

(c) Lucian Vazquez · Maine, United States · CC BY
(c) lisebsb · Virginia, United States · CC BY
iNaturalist → · observation

Buttonbush spotted thriving in Charlottesville's Greenbrier neighborhood

Buttonbush is one of the best native shrubs you can plant near a wet spot or rain garden — its gl...

(c) Skyler Principe · Michigan, United States · CC BY
iNaturalist → · observation

upright prairie coneflower (Ratibida columnifera) observed in Tusco...

Upright prairie coneflower thrives in the dry, rocky soils most gardeners curse — spotting it nat...

(c) Tom Norton · Vermont, United States · CC BY
PubMed → · research article

Beetles reward woodland wildflowers that make more and sweeter nectar

The wildflowers carpeting a shady forest floor are competing for beetle visits, and the plants wi...

pollinators
Europe PMC → · research article

Pollinator prediction models need real biology, not just statistics

The pollinator forecasts conservation groups use to plan habitat restoration could be quietly wro...

pollinators
Europe PMC → · research article

Researchers weigh pollen grains to decode how pollination works

Every sneeze-inducing pollen cloud drifting through your yard in spring depends on grain weight a...

native-plants
PubMed → · research article

Elephant grazing reshapes rainforest bird communities, researchers find

The birds foraging on the forest floor beneath a canopy of trees you'd recognize from any tropica...

Becky Dill · North Carolina, United States · CC0
iNaturalist → · observation

Tall goldenrod sightings stay high as fall bloom winds down

If you've noticed tall yellow flower spikes lighting up roadsides and field edges this month, you...

iNaturalist → · observation

Milkweed sightings stay high across Canada as autumn sets in

If you're growing milkweed for monarch butterflies, this is the time of year the seed pods split ...

iNaturalist → · observation

Native lupine spotted thriving along a Vancouver, WA creek trail

If you walk or garden near Pacific Northwest waterways, this is the purple-flowered native that s...

iNaturalist → · observation

Native buckwheat spotted thriving on Bolsa Chica coastal trail

If you're restoring a native garden or hiking Southern California's coast, this tough, drought-pr...

(c) Skyler Principe · Michigan, United States · CC BY
iNaturalist → · observation

This scrappy white wildflower is having its fall moment

If you've noticed clouds of small white daisy-like flowers taking over unmowed edges and meadows ...

iNaturalist → · observation

Calico aster is still having a big fall moment in Canada

If you're walking trails or field edges right now, the small white-and-purple-centered daisies cr...

iNaturalist → · observation

Showy milkweed confirmed growing wild in Winthrop, Washington

Monarch butterflies depend entirely on milkweed to lay their eggs, so every verified sighting lik...

iNaturalist → · observation

New England aster sightings drop as fall bloom fades

If you've got asters blooming along a fence line or trail edge right now, you're watching one of ...

iNaturalist → · observation

Anise hyssop spotted thriving along Manhattan's riverside greenway

If you're hunting for a tough native plant that bees and butterflies love, a confirmed city sight...

soil-health
PubMed → · research article

Antibiotic pollution stunts fruit flies by starving their gut bacteria

The oriental fruit fly is a major pest of orchard and garden fruit worldwide, so anything that re...

iNaturalist → · observation

Frost aster sightings are fading fast as fall bloom winds down

If you've noticed clouds of small white daisy-like flowers lining roadsides and fields this month...

iNaturalist → · observation

Fewer New England asters spotted as fall bloom season winds down

If the tall purple-pink aster brightening roadsides and meadow edges near you is starting to look...

iNaturalist → · observation

Naturalist spots native turkey mullein thriving in southern Oregon

Turkey mullein is a magnet for native bees and was historically used by Indigenous communities to...

iNaturalist → · observation

American trumpet vine spotted and verified in Chesapeake, Virginia

American trumpet vine's bright orange blooms are a magnet for ruby-throated hummingbirds, so spot...

iNaturalist → · observation

Native buckwheat spotted thriving along LA fire road

This scrubby shrub feeds more native bee and butterfly species than almost any other plant in Sou...

iNaturalist → · observation

Showy purple aster confirmed growing wild in British Columbia's Car...

If you're hiking or gardening in BC's interior, this is a native late-summer bloomer that pollina...

iNaturalist → · observation

Trumpet vine spotted thriving on a Pittsburgh city street

If you've got a bare fence or trellis and want to pull in hummingbirds all summer, this vine's or...

iNaturalist → · observation

Native cup plant spotted thriving in a Wisconsin yard

If you're planting a pollinator patch, cup plant's water-catching leaf cups double as tiny bird b...

iNaturalist → · observation

Fragrant wildflower confirmed growing in Texas Panhandle grassland

If you're mapping native plants for a pollinator garden in the southern plains, every confirmed s...

iNaturalist → · observation

Monarch host plant confirmed growing along a Utah street

If you're trying to attract monarch butterflies to your own yard, this sighting confirms showy mi...

iNaturalist → · observation

Common yarrow spotted thriving on a Portland street curb

That feathery-leafed plant popping up in sidewalk cracks and parking strips isn't just weedy fill...

(c) Alan Rockefeller · Texas, United States · CC BY
iNaturalist → · observation

Fluffy native vine spotted thriving in Austin's wild spaces

That wispy, silver-plumed vine climbing over fences and shrubs near Austin trails is a native Tex...

iNaturalist → · observation

Sunny native wildflower spotted growing wild in Vancouver street

Spotting Lance-leaved Coreopsis thriving on a city street shows how well this drought-tolerant na...

iNaturalist → · observation

Fragrant native shrub confirmed thriving in NJ Pine Barrens

This shrub's late-summer flowers are a magnet for bees and butterflies, so spotting it thriving i...

iNaturalist → · observation

Native coastal shrub spotted thriving on the Sonoma coastline

If you garden anywhere near the coast, coyote brush is the native shrub that shrugs off salt spra...

(c) Rachel Lee Harper · California, United States · CC BY
iNaturalist → · observation

Marsh fleabane spotted and confirmed in a California coastal city

Spotting marsh fleabane in your local wetland or drainage ditch tells you the soil stays wet enou...

iNaturalist → · observation

Wild sunflower confirmed growing along a Sacramento-area road

That roadside stretch of Elverta might look like scrubby edge-land, but a confirmed sunflower sig...

iNaturalist → · observation

Native pink shrub confirmed growing wild on BC's Sunshine Coast

If you're restoring a soggy corner of your yard or a streambank near you, Rose Spirea is the kind...

iNaturalist → · observation

Native Pacific ninebark spotted thriving in an Oregon roadside

Pacific ninebark is a workhorse native shrub for Pacific Northwest gardeners: its spring clusters...

iNaturalist → · observation

Fragrant native wildflower spotted thriving in West Texas town

Lemon beebalm's minty-citrus scent and long summer bloom make it a bee and butterfly magnet you c...

food-safety
PubMed → · research article

Everyday meat, eggs and dairy carry most forever-chemical exposure

If you raise backyard chickens, keep a small flock, or just buy eggs and milk from local farms, t...

iNaturalist → · observation

Spotted in Texas: a tough native wildflower bees love

If you're planning a drought-tolerant native bed, this coneflower's confirmed presence in Central...

iNaturalist → · observation

Butterfly bush confirmed growing wild on a Reno street

If you've got a butterfly bush in your yard, this sighting is a reminder that the same shrub poll...

iNaturalist → · observation

Native onion with drooping pink flowers confirmed growing in Coupeville

Nodding onion is a native pollinator magnet with edible bulbs, so spotting one growing wild is a ...

iNaturalist → · observation

Drought-tough Sleepy Morning plant confirmed growing on Kauai campus

If you're trying to fill a sunny, dry corner of your yard with something tough and pollinator-fri...

iNaturalist → · observation

Bright native wildflower spotted growing wild in Ontario yard

If you're trying to fill a sunny, dry patch of garden with something pollinators love and deer te...

iNaturalist → · observation

A native holly with winter berries confirmed growing in New York

If you've ever wondered why certain yards keep bright red berries all winter while everything els...

iNaturalist → · observation

Pungent native wildflower confirmed blooming in Mount Hamilton hills

If you hike or garden in California's inner coast ranges, Vinegar Weed's sharp, vinegary scent an...

pollinators
PubMed → · research article

Wasp venom chemistry hijacks host insects from the inside out

If you've ever watched a caterpillar in your garden get taken over by tiny wasp larvae, this rese...

plant-signaling
PubMed → · research article

Scientists see how fruit fly noses detect mating signals

The fruit flies buzzing around your compost bin or overripe tomatoes use this exact molecular swi...

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