Topic > The pollination process of bumblebees

Swiss researchers tested a field of mustard plants and observed how the pollination process by bumblebees occurs. And they concluded that plants pollinated by bees grew and acquired a stronger scent. They also concluded something alarming: that the ability of flowers in the field to pollinate themselves increased 15 times. This decline has alarmed research because bees play a critical role by acting as primary pollinators for plants and food crops. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay And if this asexual production starts to become a habitual practice for them, then there is a possibility that plants will have difficulty evolving and adapting to external forces, just like pests that move into an area when the climate is warming. They also found hundreds of millions of dead bees after disinfecting Zika mosquitoes in South Carolina. They are also currently considering whether to legalize glysophate, a herbicide that causes cancer in humans and lethal effects on bees. Even components used by some farmers have been found to have lethal and serious effects on bee populations that can affect plant evolution. Professor Florian Schiestl, from the University of Zurich, says: “Bumble bees and hoverflies have different preferences when visiting flowers. These preferences decide which plants the pollinator visits and that means which plants mate with each other.” “We found that the plants pollinated by the bumblebees were much more fragrant. They had about twice the odor of hoverfly-pollinated plants.” , “Plants pollinated by bumblebees were taller and plants by hoverflies had greater self-pollination.” Professor Schiestl further said: “I think there are many reasons why we should not destroy our bees. I think we added one more.” This could put pressure on plants if they become less attractive to bees. “This could have a long-term effect that may not be reversible. No one knows if this can be traced back to an attractive feature for bees. Perhaps we are going down a one-way street," Professor Schiestl said. He was clear that self-pollination could be harmful. “Self-pollination reduces genetic variability in the population. The same individual mates with itself. The idea of ​​sexual reproduction is to increase variation,” he said. “If all that stops, it basically creates a kind of vicious cycle. You have less genetic variation, so you have less potential to respond to different selective pressures.” You can reach a stage where you have no genetic variation. Such a population can no longer evolve, [for example] to develop resistance against a pathogen.” “Bees are not the only pollinators, but many plants will not thrive if they come visited only by other insects, as this new research shows," he said. Keep in mind: This is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a custom essay “But Britain's bees are in danger and we can all do more to help them, for example by growing pollinator-friendly plants, avoiding pesticides and turning gardens and other spaces into bee-friendly habitats “And you can check the bees in your garden, park or neighborhood by taking part in the Great British Bee Count later this spring.”