Flowers can hear buzzing bees - and it makes their nectar sweeter

[Becky]

A study looking at Evening Primroses concluded that the plants could sense the vibrations of a buzzing insect and temporarily increased the concentration of sugar in their flowers’ nectar in response. How amazing is that?!

But for plants exposed to playbacks of bee sounds (0.2 to 0.5 kilohertz) and similarly low-frequency sounds (0.05 to 1 kilohertz), the final analysis revealed an unmistakable response. Within three minutes of exposure to these recordings, sugar concentration in the plants increased from between 12 and 17 percent to 20 percent.

A sweeter treat for pollinators, their theory goes, may draw in more insects, potentially increasing the chances of successful cross-pollination.

Flowers can hear buzzing bees—and it makes their nectar sweeter

 

[zigs]

Cor

Trees have their own internet too

They use the fungal mycellium that go between the roots to send chemical signals to other trees when they're being attacked by caterpillars. When the caterpillars move onto the next tree, the leaves have changed to be unpallatable

 

[Becky]

They use the fungal mycellium that go between the roots to send chemical signals to other trees when they're being attacked by caterpillars. When the caterpillars move onto the next tree, the leaves have changed to be unpallatable

That's amazing! It's incredible what nature can achieve.

 

[Gemma]

Nature, what a wonderful thing!