![]() ![]() “Our findings indicate that pollen-feeding was an important evolutionary switch, but does not fully explain the diversity we see today. “We found that some of the earliest-originating bees did not partake in the diversification upswing,” Murray said. “Broadening of plant diets opened up new and unexploited ecological niches,” said Silas Bossert, a graduate student in the lab of entomology professor Bryan Danforth, and a lead author of the paper along with Elizabeth Murray, a former postdoctoral researcher, also in Danforth’s lab. The researchers showed – for the first time – that pollinivory was an important step, but the rapid diversification of bees is better explained by a later development when bees shifted from being specialists narrowly focused on a few host-plant species to generalists that fed on many host plants. 14 in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society: Biology Letters, used a recent, existing evolutionary tree of bees and computer models to calculate diversification rates in bees and related wasps. ![]() ![]() But no one had tested this hypothesis, until now. The idea was that the new food source promoted new species to develop. Researchers have widely believed that bees evolved from carnivorous wasps and that pollen feeding, called pollinivory, allowed bees to rapidly diversify. Today, bees are incredibly diverse, accounting for around 20,000 species, with nearly all larvae consuming a diet of flower pollen and nectar. I am continuing to collect pollen, beyond the beautiful pages of Hodges’ book, to study the plant it comes from, to observe the bees and pollinators that are attracted to the plant, and to document the process through photography and drawing.A new study rewrites a commonly cited hypothesis about bee evolution and the cause behind an explosion in diversity of bee species some 120 million years ago. The exhibition entitled, “not by chance alone,” included a large section of my big bee project, as well as this pollen work. Update on the pollen path: The color samples based upon Dorothy Hodges’ work became part of my exhibition at the Richmond Art Gallery last fall. “Recording the Colors of Pollen Loads,” Bee World 75(4) 169-180. I’ve tried a variety of different media for the color studies, the buttery and rich Schminke soft pastels are my preferred medium for this part of my project. The swatches in her book however, were produced professionally with sprayed paint, the color swatches were then cut up and hand-tipped (1). She used Windsor Newton watercolors for her color charts. This is a rare book and a delicious pleasure to explore!įor reference purposes, I’ve recreated the color swatches that Hodges made, although I find myself going back to Hodges’ original swatches often to check my color interpretations against her own. Only 200 copies of the book were printed (It has gone through 2 reprints). Hodges spent 6 years researching, collecting the pollen that bees brought back to the hive, recording the colors of the pollen loads and meticuously drawing the microscopic pollen grains for each plant that she included in her study. This is an on-going project, which, I am certain will change and evolve as the work progresses. ![]() I have set myself the task of identifying each of the plant species that Dorothy Hodges included in her book, and to record the experience of studying each plant, its pollen and a little of its “story” through a series of drawings. So for me, this book has proven to be yet another priceless learning experience. Who knew that pollen came in so many colors? Lori did, but I didn’t. The color charts are so rich and enticing. Written in the 1950’s, it’s a collection of exquisite drawings of pollen grains, plus a 120-plant color chart of honeybee pollen loads. Madame Beespeaker) and I, feverishly examined (and drooled over) a rare book by Dorothy Hodges, the British artist, beekeeper and researcher. I’m exploring the amazingly beautiful world of pollen.Ī few years ago now, a new friend and colleague of mine, LW (that would be Lori Weidenhammer, the mistress of all things bee and published author, ie. ![]()
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