Nature: Bumblebees’ ‘clever trick’ fools plants into flowering

BBC News and Daily Mail report scientists have discovered a new behaviour among bumblebees that tricks plants into flowering early. Researchers found that when deprived of pollen, bumblebees will nibble on the leaves of flowerless plants. The damage done seems to fool the plant into flowering, sometimes up to 30 days earlier than normal. Writing in the journal Science, the scientists say they have struggled to replicate the bees’ trick in the laboratory. 

Photo by Jice75 under creative commons.

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