Birds vs. bees: Study helps explain how flowers evolved to get pollinators to specialize
Wednesday, April 19, 2017 - 12:02
in Biology & Nature
Ecologists who study flowering plants have long believed that flowers evolved with particular sets of characteristics—unique combinations of colors, shapes, and orientations, for example—as a means of attracting specific pollinators. But a recent paper in the journal Ecology suggests that flowers that are visited almost exclusively by hummingbirds are actually designed not to lure birds, but to deter bumblebees and their wasteful visits.