Vibrators help flowers release their load as effectively as bees

As far as some flowers are concerned, when it comes to the birds and the bees, sometimes a vibrator is all you really need.

For farmers and gardening enthusiasts who are worried about the decline of bee populations worldwide, scientists have come up with a relatively simple solution: use vibrators instead, according to WIRED's Gwen Pearson.

 

Choosy flowers

 

Some plants have evolved in ways that make them choosy when it comes to who they choose as pollinators. For example, one species of tropical plant can tell what kind of bird is shoving its beak down its flowers, and only accepts pollen from its preferred species—those with long, curved beaks.

 

However, other plants require a different kind of stimulation before they even release their pollen load. When a bee sonicates, she can go up to 24,000 vibrations per minute (400 Hz). Buzz-pollinated flowers only release their pollen after being stimulated by the buzzing, releasing around 20% of their total pollen in each spurt. This encourages the bees to visit multiple flowers of the same species, leading to less inbreeding and more fruit and seeds.

 

Artificial stimulation

 

Vibrators can be used to stimulate plants that require buzz pollination. In one trial at the Louisiana State University Agricultural Center, they managed to pollinate 640 tomato plants with a vibrator. The entire operation took 11.75 hours, but did lead to an increase in yield and profit. The vibrators have also been successfully used on crops that usually rely on wind pollination.

 

 

The VegiBee vibrator has a range of 29,000-44,000 vibrations per minute, similar to a bumblebee.  Aside from the stimulator, it also comes with a “collection spoon” that allows you to catch the released pollen.

 

Honey bees are actually incapable of buzz pollination, so scientists encourage that we take care of bumblebee and solitary bee populations. —  GMA News