Plants produce more nectar when they ‘hear' bees buzzing, scientists find
The research suggests that plants are a more active partner than previously thought in their symbiotic relationship with pollinators. The behaviour could be a survival strategy that favours giving nectar and sugar to bees over so-called nectar robbers that do not offer plants any reproductive benefits.
'There is growing evidence that both insects and plants can sense and produce, or transmit, vibro-acoustic signals,' said Prof Francesca Barbero, a zoologist at the University of Turin, who led the research.
The findings add to the 'truly astonishing' multitude of ways that plants can perceive their surroundings, including the presence of beneficial and harmful insects, temperature, drought and wind, Barbero added. In future, the team suggested, buzzing noises could be used on farms as an environmentally friendly way of enhancing the pollination of crops.
The scientists are not yet sure how the plants might be listening in. They could rely on mechanoreceptors, cells that respond to mechanical stimulation such as touch, pressure or vibrations. 'Plants do not have a brain, but they can sense the environment and respond accordingly,' said Barbero.
After observing that bees and competing insects have distinct vibrational signals that are used in mating and other forms of communication, Barbero and her collaborators set out to investigate whether plants detected these signals.
They played recordings near snapdragons of the buzzing sounds produced by snail-shell bees (Rhodanthidium sticticum), which are efficient snapdragon pollinators, comparing the plants' response to sounds produced by a non-pollinating wasp and ambient sounds.
The researchers found that in response to the snail-shell bee noises, the snapdragons increased the volume of nectar and its sugar content and showed altered expression in genes that govern sugar transport and nectar production.
This could be an evolutionary adaptation to coax the pollinators into spending more time at the flowers. 'The ability to discriminate approaching pollinators based on their distinctive vibro-acoustic signals could be an adaptive strategy for plants,' said Barbero.
While it is clear that buzzing sounds can trigger nectar production, the scientists are now looking into whether sounds from plants are being used actively to draw in suitable pollinators.
They are also testing whether the plant responses enhanced the attraction for all flower visitors – including nectar robbers – or only the best pollinators.
'Our hypothesis is that the changes in nectar we observed after treating the plants with the sounds of the best pollinators specifically increase the attraction of this particular species (Rhodanthidium sticticum),' said Barbero. 'However, to confirm this, we need to conduct choice tests to assess how different nectar concentrations attract various species.
'If this response from insects is confirmed, sounds could be used to treat economically relevant plants and crops, and increase their pollinators' attraction,' she said.
The findings were presented on Wednesday at the joint 188th Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America and 25th International Congress on Acoustics in New Orleans.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Yahoo
Rare face tattoos on 800-year-old mystery mummy baffle archaeologists
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. An 800-year-old mummy donated to a museum in Italy a century ago has revealed new clues about ancient face tattoos. But the mummy's origin remains shrouded in mystery. Some time prior to 1930, the mummy of an adult female was donated to the Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography (MAET) at the University of Turin, with no records of its archaeological context. The mummy recently caught the attention of a team of researchers due to the surprising presence of tattoos on her face. In a study published in the May-June issue of the Journal of Cultural Heritage, the international team of researchers detailed their analysis of the mummy and her tattoos, noting that they were extremely unusual both in their location and in the composition of the ink used to make them. The mummy has straight black hair cropped short and is tightly flexed into a seated position, typical of mummy burials in the Andes. Researchers carbon-dated textile fragments stuck to the body and determined the woman died between A.D. 1215 and 1382. "On the basis of current evidence — particularly preservation, body placement, associated materials and documents — a South American origin is strongly supported," study lead author Gianluigi Mangiapane, an anthropologist at the University of Turin, told Live Science in an email. Related: Lasers reveal hidden patterns in tattoos of 1,200-year-old Peru mummies But while looking closely at the mummy using infrared reflectography, a technique often used to "see through" paint layers of artwork to find older brush strokes, the research team noted a series of unusual tattoos: three lines on the mummy's right cheek, one line on the left cheek and an S-shape on the right wrist. "Skin marks on the face are rare among the groups of the ancient Andean region and even rarer on the cheeks," the researchers wrote in the study, and the S-shaped tattoo "is so far unique for the Andean region." To identify the ink used to make the tattoos, the researchers used a suite of non-destructive techniques. Although they expected to find evidence of charcoal in the ink, they instead discovered that the unusual ink was made with magnetite, an iron oxide mineral, with traces of the mineral augite. In South America, augite and magnetite can be found together in southern Peru, suggesting a potential homeland for the mummified woman. "There are a small number of ethnographic accounts from the Americas that describe the use of mineral or earth pigments such as hematite or magnetite for tattooing, and the new study fits quite nicely with those," Aaron Deter-Wolf, an archaeologist at the Tennessee Division of Archaeology who was not involved in the study, told Live Science by email. But Deter-Wolf, who is an expert in ancient tattooing, is not convinced that the mystery mummy hails from the Andes. RELATED STORIES —People 'finger painted' the skulls of their ancestors red in the Andes a millennium ago —1,000-year-old mummy in fetal position found in underground tomb in Peru —'Pregnant' ancient Egyptian mummy with 'cancer' actually wasn't pregnant and didn't have cancer, new study finds "Stylistically, these particular face markings have far more in common with historic Arctic or Amazonian traditions than with Andean practices," Deter-Wolf said. "It would be fascinating to see what oxygen isotopes or other studies might be able to tell us about the origins of this individual." At this stage, though, isotope analyses have not been carried out. "Since these types of analyses are invasive, we have currently decided to limit such procedures in order to preserve the integrity of the remains," Mangiapane said. But the MAET that houses the mummy is interested in further investigation, Mangiapane said, and this may include future cultural comparisons to better understand the nature of the mysterious mummy's facial tattoos.
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Yahoo
Plants produce more nectar when they ‘hear' bees buzzing, scientists find
Plants can 'hear' bees buzzing and serve up more nectar when they are nearby, scientists have found. The research suggests that plants are a more active partner than previously thought in their symbiotic relationship with pollinators. The behaviour could be a survival strategy that favours giving nectar and sugar to bees over so-called nectar robbers that do not offer plants any reproductive benefits. 'There is growing evidence that both insects and plants can sense and produce, or transmit, vibro-acoustic signals,' said Prof Francesca Barbero, a zoologist at the University of Turin, who led the research. The findings add to the 'truly astonishing' multitude of ways that plants can perceive their surroundings, including the presence of beneficial and harmful insects, temperature, drought and wind, Barbero added. In future, the team suggested, buzzing noises could be used on farms as an environmentally friendly way of enhancing the pollination of crops. The scientists are not yet sure how the plants might be listening in. They could rely on mechanoreceptors, cells that respond to mechanical stimulation such as touch, pressure or vibrations. 'Plants do not have a brain, but they can sense the environment and respond accordingly,' said Barbero. After observing that bees and competing insects have distinct vibrational signals that are used in mating and other forms of communication, Barbero and her collaborators set out to investigate whether plants detected these signals. They played recordings near snapdragons of the buzzing sounds produced by snail-shell bees (Rhodanthidium sticticum), which are efficient snapdragon pollinators, comparing the plants' response to sounds produced by a non-pollinating wasp and ambient sounds. The researchers found that in response to the snail-shell bee noises, the snapdragons increased the volume of nectar and its sugar content and showed altered expression in genes that govern sugar transport and nectar production. This could be an evolutionary adaptation to coax the pollinators into spending more time at the flowers. 'The ability to discriminate approaching pollinators based on their distinctive vibro-acoustic signals could be an adaptive strategy for plants,' said Barbero. While it is clear that buzzing sounds can trigger nectar production, the scientists are now looking into whether sounds from plants are being used actively to draw in suitable pollinators. They are also testing whether the plant responses enhanced the attraction for all flower visitors – including nectar robbers – or only the best pollinators. 'Our hypothesis is that the changes in nectar we observed after treating the plants with the sounds of the best pollinators specifically increase the attraction of this particular species (Rhodanthidium sticticum),' said Barbero. 'However, to confirm this, we need to conduct choice tests to assess how different nectar concentrations attract various species. 'If this response from insects is confirmed, sounds could be used to treat economically relevant plants and crops, and increase their pollinators' attraction,' she said. The findings were presented on Wednesday at the joint 188th Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America and 25th International Congress on Acoustics in New Orleans.
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Yahoo
Plants can hear tiny wing flaps of pollinators
Our planet runs on pollinators. Without bees, moths, weevils, and more zooming around and spreading plants' reproductive cells, plants and important crops would not grow. Without plants we would not breathe or eat. When these crucial pollinating species visit flowers and other plants, they produce a number of characteristic sounds, such as wing flapping when hovering, landing, and taking off. Depending on the size of the pollinator, these sounds are extremely small, especially compared to the other vibrations and acoustics of insect life. In new research presented today at the 188th Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America and 25th International Congress on Acoustics, it appears that plants can respond to the tiny wingbeats of insects. 'Plant-pollinator coevolution has been studied primarily by assessing the production and perception of visual and olfactory cues, even though there is growing evidence that both insects and plants can sense and produce, or transmit, vibroacoustic signals,' said Francesca Barbero, a professor of zoology at the University of Turin in Italy. A team of entomologists, sound engineers, and plant physiologists played recordings of the buzzing sounds made by the tiny Rhodanthidium sticticum bee near some growing flowers called snapdragons (from the genus Antirrhinum). The bees in this genus are known to be efficient snapdragon pollinators. The team then monitored the flowers' reactions. The sound of the bees appears to trigger the snapdragons to increase their sugar and nectar volume. The noise can even change how the genes that control both sugar transport and nectar production behave. According to the team, this response could be a survival and co-evolution strategy, especially if the snapdragons can influence the time that pollinators spend on their flowers. 'The ability to discriminate approaching pollinators based on their distinctive vibroacoustic signals could be an adaptive strategy for plants,' said Barbero. What is less clear is whether the plant acoustics can influence the insect's behavior. For example, can sounds made by plants draw in a suitable pollinator. [ Related: ] 'If this response from insects is confirmed, sounds could be used to treat economically relevant plants and crops, and increase their pollinators' attraction,' said Barbero. The team is currently analyzing snapdragon response to other pollinators to try and learn more. 'The multitude of ways plants can perceive both biotic factors — such as beneficial and harmful insects, other neighboring plants — and abiotic cues, like temperature, drought, and wind in their surroundings, is truly astonishing,' Barbero said. The data in this research has not been peer reviewed yet or published in any scientific journal. The project, 'Good Vibes: How do plants recognise and respond to pollinator vibroacoustic signals?' is funded by the Human Frontier Science Program and is a collaborative effort between the University of Turin, I²SysBio in Valencia, and the Centre for Audio, Acoustics and Vibration at the University of Technology Sydney.
