HadNews.com

As I walk around the supermarket, I pick up vegetables for tomorrow’s dinner, eggs and bread for tonight and some sweet treats for the week. By choosing a range of different food types, I’ll eat a wide variety of nutrients. But what if bread was the only option available? And another shop just sold a different type of loaf? Or only oranges? This may sound far-fetched, but for bees – insects that depend on pollen and nectar for their nutrition – that’s the equivalent of feeding from a large field of just one type of plant. Some bees feed on a wide range of plants. Others, including some of the UK’s 200 wild solitary bee species are spec...... Read Full article on HadNews

Colourful flowers, and the insects and birds that fly among their dazzling displays, are a joy of nature. But how did early relationships between flower colour and animal pollinators emerge? In a study published in Proceedings of the Royal Society, we have unravelled this mystery by analysing the visual environments in which the ancestors of today’s bees foraged from flowers. We measured and analysed the light reflected from today’s flowers, as well as the rocks, soil, sticks, bark and leaves that form their natural backgrounds. From this data we built computer simulations that recreate the ancient visual environment when the first f...... Read Full article on HadNews