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| Bumble bees feeding on
artificial flower. Photograph by Emma Katz |
Most flowering
plant species in nature rely on insect pollination to reproduce, and most of
these plants offer nectar rewards to pollinators to encourage them to return.
Interestingly, some groups of flowering plants, like orchids, do not offer any
rewards, and it is interesting how these non-rewarding plants are able to
attract pollinators and compete with other, rewarding plants for pollinator
visits.
In this study, the
goal was to see how the non-rewarding plants should grow with respect to a
rewarding species to receive the best visits from pollinators. I tested this
using bumble bees with two flower types—blue (rewarding) and purple
(non-rewarding)—arranged in one of two ways—mixed together or grouped into
clumps by species. I collected data on the number of visits to each color,
switches between colors, and consecutive visits to the same color. I found that
the intermixed arrangement caused more visits to the non-rewarding flowers, but
also caused more switching between flower types, which is bad for both plant
species.
Read the scientific publication in JPE.
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