Polluted Air Reduces Insect Visits to Flowers by 90%

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Flower Smog

Air pollution is changing insects’ flower maps. Researchers studied polluted air’s impact on insect visits to mustard plants and flowers.

• Mustard plants: 70% fewer visits

• Flowers: 90% fewer visits

• Polluted air alters flower scents and metabolic processes

Pollinators struggle to remember new scents and get lost in changing olfactory landscapes. Better understanding how air pollution affects 1 of every 3 bites of food we eat will help us go green. I knew my allergies felt dirtier.

Breath of fresh air?

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