Hi everyone,
I hope you are fine ... adapting to the changing weather we've been having ... here in Southwestern Ontario from far below freezing to almost balmy and melting today.
Today I want to shout Hurray for Bob McDonald, Quirks and Quarks! His CBC
radio show presents a wide range of information and interviews over all areas
of science. He asks useful questions of
his guests, so they and he can explain things clearly to us.
Yesterday, McDonald and his guest gave us a history lesson
that underscores the intricacy of nature and that we need to take care of it.
He interviewed Dr.
George Poinar, Professor Emeritus in the Department of Integrative
Biology at Oregon State
University. Dr. Poinar's specialization is the study of
materials preserved in amber, surely a blend of beauty and science!
Poinar was describing the tiny plant he and his colleagues
had discovered in Myanmar
(Burma) ... 18
flowers on the sprig, each only 1mm in diameter, and even tinier tubes evident
from 2 pollen grains. The plant had been
preserved in the act that would begin fertilization!
The pollen type had been a sticky pollen, so it was likely
pollination happened because of insect transfer of pollen. Poinar mentioned
that several years ago he'd discovered a particularly tiny bee (also in amber)
which might have been the type that pollinated the type of plant now
discovered.
The age of these tiny remnants of biological history
past? 100 million years ago. A period of history called the Cretaceous.
This underscores that the varied ancestors of our bees have
been helping plants for quite a while.
They've been integral to the increasingly diverse biological life on our
Gaian home.
So, here I am back to the issue of it not being a good idea
to keep using the neonicotinoid pesticides that kill honeybees, bees generally
and other pollinators, birds, and other vertebrates and invertebrates. Links below!
I hope you have the time to listen to Dr. Poinar's interview at the link below to Quirks and Quarks.
Ah bees! Ah flowers! Ah spring! Ah anticipation!
Very best regards,
Why's Woman
For information on neonicotinoids:
Quirks and Quarks, hosted by Bob McDonald
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