If you want to see how a field biologist is able to determine which plant species pollinators have visited and how much nectar (and its sugar content) is in a flower, check out this video! I study monarch pollination, but I have never used these techniques - you learn something new every day, even in your field of study.
Krissa Skogen of the Chicago Botanic Garden studies hawkmoths, which are large moths that live in the desert and feed on nectar, spreading flowers' pollen at the same time. What's fascinating is unlike other pollinators, hawkmoths have no home or place they return to each day, and they fly up to 20 miles a day. They also pollinate at night! I also studied hawkmoths on a Baja California field quarter, and pulled out their proboscis (like a straw-shaped tongue) to measure it after we caught them landing on jimsonweed flowers. We were trying to see if there was a relationship between how long their proboscis was and how deep the flower tube was. Unfortunately for me, we didn't collect enough data to publish results. I still think they are fascinating insects though.
This video is one in a series called "Plants are Cool, Too!" by Dr. Chris Martine. The other ones are also well worth watching if you want to find out some fascinating facts about plants.
http://www.youtube.com/user/PlantsAreCoolToo?feature=watch
Video from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8IPQTs0cfqw
Krissa Skogen of the Chicago Botanic Garden studies hawkmoths, which are large moths that live in the desert and feed on nectar, spreading flowers' pollen at the same time. What's fascinating is unlike other pollinators, hawkmoths have no home or place they return to each day, and they fly up to 20 miles a day. They also pollinate at night! I also studied hawkmoths on a Baja California field quarter, and pulled out their proboscis (like a straw-shaped tongue) to measure it after we caught them landing on jimsonweed flowers. We were trying to see if there was a relationship between how long their proboscis was and how deep the flower tube was. Unfortunately for me, we didn't collect enough data to publish results. I still think they are fascinating insects though.
This video is one in a series called "Plants are Cool, Too!" by Dr. Chris Martine. The other ones are also well worth watching if you want to find out some fascinating facts about plants.
http://www.youtube.com/user/PlantsAreCoolToo?feature=watch
Video from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8IPQTs0cfqw