Flower chemicals attract some insects but deter others with toxic warning
... target on the part of the flower where nectar and pollen occur, the distinctive patterns also are believed to help insects recognize a familiar flower among a field of competing images. "But we had a nagging suspicion that the ultraviolet-absorbing pigments had other functions for the plant," recalls gradu...University of Cincinnati researchers track climate changes in Arctic thaw lakes
... Eisner and the team are using radiocarbon dating, pollen analysis, ground-penetrating radar and remote sensing to devise models for the monitoring. She and co-investigator Ken Hinkel, UC professor of geography, will report on their preliminary findings Nov. 16 at the Land-Atmosphere-Ice Interactions confer...Monarch butterflies, corn pollen coexist in cornfields
...mber of monarch larvae and, in cornfields, whether pollen was being shed. In Minnesota and Wisconsin, corn pollen was shed during a time--mid-July through the first week in August--when the highest numbers of monar...Agricultural pests may threaten prairies
...n moving from corn fields into prairies to feed on pollen and other parts of native flowers. The beetles seem to favor sunflowers and other yellow composite flowers. The researchers studied corn rootworm beetles in McKnight Prairie, which is in southeastern Minnesota. The 33-acre prairie is long and narrow...Phased-out Bt corn variety dramatically cut growth rate of black swallowtail caterpillars
...rchers report. Because rainfall repeatedly reduced pollen concentrations during the summer 2000 test period,...ion Agency. The results of this study suggest that pollen from Bt corn varieties engineered with the 176 event may have sublethal effects on black swallowtail...Cell-cell communication in the flower is unlocked
...s stigma. If genetically unrelated (nonmatching) pollen lands on the stigma, the pollen germinates and produces a pollen tube that then runs through the plant's pistil and into the plant's...Leading experts address safety and economics of biotech crops
...at "the impact of Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) corn pollen on monarch butterfly populations is negligible." The finding sharply contradicts previously published reports. "Inflated and unsubstantiated claims by environmentalists calling for the ban of transgenic corn crops in North America because of the ris...Genes passed from crops to weeds persist for generations
... traits: two enzymes, flower color and pollen fertility. On average, the wi... per fruit than wild plants and fewer viable pollen grains. A large portion of hybrids never produced fruits (60 to 78 percent), whi...Of gallflies, bees, mosquitoes, and butterflies: researchers to discuss insects
...effective pollinators. In contrast, the number of pollen grains on a stigma after a visit from a honeybee was not very different from that left by a nectar-robbing bee. In fact, the honeybees caused the stigmas to close, which often prevents later pollination. Richardson's work demonstrates that a floral ...Identification of genes may tell how plants recognize pollen
...ied the genes that code for proteins that coat the pollen of theflowering plant thaliana .The studies may help scientists understand how plants recognize pollen fromtheir own species. Understanding the basis ofspecies recognition by plants could enable crop sci...Putting randomness to work: unique form of nanoscale random motion may drive key cellular functions
... first observed the phenomena bearing his name in pollen particles moving through water. Brown first believed that what we saw through his primitive microscope was "the secret of life." But after observing the same kind of motion with inorganic particles, he discarded that belief with disappoin...Saline solution a serious threat to wetlands
...h flowers that float on the water. They shed their pollen there, so the flower heads must be kept above the ...lls, remaining on the surface. The plants produce pollen and then seeds, but more important for plant-eating birds are the starchy food stores called turions...Oily fossils provide clues to the evolution of flowers
...lved 250 million years ago - long before the first pollen grain appeared in the fossil record. "Our research indicates that the descendants of flowering plants may have originated during the Permian period, between 290 and 245 million years ago," says J. Michael Moldowan, research professor of Geological an...Pollen record from Chilean lakes indicates global "togetherness" during last ice age
...To help answer those questions, the group obtained pollen records tracking changes in vegetation from 13,000 years to 10,000 years ago. Lake after lake, the results produced the same pattern. The southern mid-latitudes were warming and cooling at the same time as the North Atlantic. All records show the sam...Gene barrier in corn may boost trade, environment
...fertilization between strains occurs as gene-laden pollen is carried by bees or blown with the wind from one field to another. The resulting contamination, especially from genetically modified corn, can ruin organic crops or make traditional hybrid corn worthless for export to countries where consumers are ...Bt corn variety found to be safe to Illinois butterfly
...kely as are monarch caterpillars to encounter corn pollen in the field during a key developmental time betwe...ibutable to ingestion of endotoxin-containing corn pollen could be detected," they wrote. In field tests, researchers grew Pioneer variety 34R07, which conta...Genetically engineered foods: science and nature don't necessarily mix
... of smell and shortened lifespan in bees consuming pollen from GE plants; changed hormone levels and altered milk content in cows eating GE soybeans; sickness in cattle given bovine growth hormone; and toxicity moving up the food chain, causing death or impaired health in non-target species consuming insect...Blister beetles use sex and subterfuge to infiltrate bee's nests
...e back to their nests while provisioning them with pollen and nectar for their own eggs. "Once inside, the larvae parasitize the nest," says Hafernik, chair of SF State's Biology Department. "The provisions that would have produced a bee produce a beetle instead. Bee eggs already in the nest cell are likely...Researchers study 10,000-year-old buried forest
...including bark and twigs.Mosses, spruce cones, and pollen were preserved on the ground below. Treesranged from 5 centimeters to 50 centimeters (about 2 to 19 inches) indiameter, and the tallest ones topped 9 meters, about 30 feet. The oldesttrees were about 145 years old when they died. "Most of what we kno...Formosan termite may be top concern of entomologists of the new millenium, according to report
...s. A recent study demonstrated, for instance, that pollen from genetically modified corn plants reduced the survival, consumption rate, growth rate and pupal mass of monarch butterflies. The other problem relates to emerging and re-emerging diseases. "Some of these, such as dengue hemorrhagic fever, have co...