Of the many gorgeous herbaceous plants and flowering fruit trees, the buff-tailed bumblebees (Bombus terrestris) in our garden chose the blooming cabbage (Brassica oleracea) as their favourite nectar and pollen source this spring. Cabbage is a cross-pollinated crop, which means it is not capable of self-fertilisation, thus pollination via insects is one of the best …
📚 Have a read of my book review about an inspiring and thought-provoking book, entitled Pollinators & Pollination: Nature and Society (2021) by Prof. Jeff Ollerton, published in Community Ecology (Springer Nature). As a teaser, here is a snippet from my review: “By learning about the most important research and field experience of a 30-year-long career, …
At the end of summer, most of the fly species found in our garden chose the overripe fruits of the fig tree as their favourite food. However, it seemed a Sarchophaga fly did not want to share this resource with the others. It tried to keep its competitors away by spreading its legs out to the …
The chayote (Sechium edule) is a great species of Cucurbitaceae, because almost all parts of the plant are edible. Besides the fruit, a lot of nations consume the root, the seeds, the stem, and the heart-shaped leaves. The chayote was unknown to me until it crawled over a three-meter-tall, stone wall from the neighbour. Thence, …
The pink-headed persicaria (Persicaria capitata; its former scientific name was Polygonum capitatum) is native to Asia and is an invasive plant in the Azores archipelago and many other places worldwide. It spreads quickly and covers even barren rock surfaces in very large densities, thus displacing native species. However, its little, pinkish flowers attract a wide …