Borage changes its appearance due to the climate crisis and bumblebees no longer pollinate it

Global warming causes changes in the appearance of plants and flowers and insects are no longer stimulated to pollinate

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According to a new study, global warming causes changes in the appearance of plants and flowers, and pollinating insects (such as bumblebees) are no longer stimulated to play their role in promoting their reproduction. 

The devastating effects of the climate crisis that we are facing are visible in the most disparate areas, and are literally destroying the various natural ecosystems, especially the most fragile and delicate ones. The world of flowers, for example, is undergoing changes in its pollination and reproduction processes due to global warming - and these changes also have a major impact on the insects that feed on their pollen: changes in appearance, shape and scent some flowers confuse the pollinating insects that are displaced.

So far the relationship between changes in flower characteristics and effects on pollinating insects hasn't been too much researched, but a recent Belgian study has tried to shed some light on the matter. The researchers took particular interest in the borage (Borago officinalis) and one of its pollinating insects, the drum (Bombus terrestris). First, changes in the appearance of the plant and its flowers grown in greenhouses were observed at two different temperatures - the first at 21 ° C and the second at 26 ° C - and the behavior of the bumblebees was monitored by noting how many times insects approached plants grown at different temperatures.

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The results were surprising: the exposure of the plants to a higher ambient temperature had negative effects on some of its physical characteristics (such as, for example, the reduction in the number of flowers); moreover, the appearance of the flowers also appears different, with effects on the number of 'visits' by bumblebees and on their feeding behavior.

In fact, it was observed that bumblebees visited plants grown at 26 ° C four times less than plants grown at a lower temperature. Hence, the global rise in temperatures caused by climate change reduces pollination levels in plants (insects are no longer adequately stimulated to do so) and their reproductive potential.

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Source: MDPI

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