Bee sure to turn your volume up!
A short video of bumblebees buzz-pollinating my Wild Senna (
Senna hebecarpa) this morning. Buzz pollination, or sonification, is essential for the extraction of pollen in certain groups of plants, including some pea family members like the senna, blueberries, potatoes and tomatoes. In buzz pollinated plants, the pollen is held tightly in specially shaped anthers. Slits in the anther are not large enough for pollen-seeking insects to access and thus access the reward within. However, vibration at a certain frequency releases the pollen through those same pores. The bumblebee takes some of the nutrient-rich pollen to eat. Other harvested pollen is made into a rich paste to feed the larvae within their nests. Along the way, the uber-fuzzy insects deposit pollen on the reproductive parts of other senna plants. Worthington, Ohio.
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