Written by Charlotte Cunningham
A new method to rapidly identify sources of bee pollen to understand which flowers are important for bees has been developed by Earlham Institute and the University of East Anglia. Charlotte Cunningham reports. Bees are in vast decline in the UK and across Europe, as are the wildflowers on which they rely. However, the species have an essential role in our ecosystems and a third of all our food is dependent on their pollination; just in economic worth, pollination by bees is annually estimated at £265 billion, worldwide. One way to help boost their numbers is by planting the correct wildflowers, providing a better habitat for pollinators to disperse, nest and breed. However, it is unclear which plant species are the most preferred between different pollinators, including bees, and how this might change over time and in different environmental conditions. In agriculture, farmers want to know that the pollinators are actually visiting the plants they need them to. Historically, scientists used light microscopy to identify individual bee-collected pollen grains, which was a time-consuming and impractical method. Rapid analysis To obtain a more accurate understanding without the need for laborious manual inspection of pollen, scientists have developed a rapid analysis method…
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