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Phoenix666 writes:

Bees latch on to similarly-sized nectarless flowers to unpick pollen – like keys fitting into locks, University of Stirling scientists have discovered.

Research, published in Ecology and Evolution, shows the right size of bee is needed to properly pollinate a flower. The insect fits tightly with the flower's anthers, to vibrate and unlock pollen sealed within.

Dr Mario Vallejo-Marin, from Stirling's Faculty of Natural Sciences, said: "We found that a pollinator's size, compared to the flower, significantly influences how much pollen is deposited."

Experts found more pollen grains are deposited when the pollinator's body is the same size or wider than the space between the flower's reproductive organs.

Dr Vallejo-Marin said: "Some plants, particularly those that are buzz-pollinated – a technique where bees hold onto the flower and vibrate to shake out the pollen – require a close physical interaction between their floral sexual organs and their visitors.

"The closer the bee fits to the flower, allowing it to touch both the male and female sexual organs, the more efficiently the insect can transfer pollen between plants."

Bees that are too small, relative to the size of the flower, transfer fewer pollen grains to other flowers and act 'pollen thieves', extracting the pollen they need without pollinating the flower.

Size does matter.

Original Submission