Electrostatically charged lepidopterans could draw pollen out of flowers without touching the blooms, computer simulations suggest.
As lepidopterans flutter their wings, friction with the air causes them to accumulate static electricity — enough to potentially pull pollen from nearby flowers, new research suggests.
Ecologists Sam England and Daniel Robert measured the electrostatic charges of 269 butterflies and moths representing 11 species. The amount of charge varied across species, probably due in part to differences in body surface area. But computer simulations showed that the average charge of a butterfly, roughly 50 picocoulombs, is strong enough to move 100 pollen grains. Given that flowers also have their own electric pull, this suggests that lepidopterans may be able to pollinate flowers without having to land on the blooms.
The team also found that the polarity of a charge and its strength seemed related to benefits in a species’ environment. For instance, the higher a positive charge — found to be common in lepidopterans from temperate regions — the better some insects can). Meanwhile, lepidopterans from the tropics were more likely to have a negative charge, which might help cloak them from detection by predators .
Butterflies and moths are just the latest additions to the list of organisms capable of gathering pollen electrostatically. Previous research has observed). The diversity in this small but growing group suggests that electrostatic pollination could be more widespread in the animal kingdom than previously thought, England says.
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Butterflies and moths suck up pollen with static electricityLaura is a science news writer, covering a wide variety of subjects, but she is particularly fascinated by all things aquatic, paleontology, nanotechnology, and exploring how science influences daily life. Laura is a proud former resident of the New Jersey shore, a competitive swimmer, and a fierce defender of the Oxford comma.
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