Kasaragod: Ants that come to suck nectar from flowers have been found to prevent pollination. Department of Zoology, Central University of Kerala Asst. Professor Dr. P.A. The findings are based on a two-year study conducted by Sinuvi in ​​vegetable gardens in Kasaragod and Kannur districts. The new findings come as the UN-led International Panel for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) reports that the world is facing a shortage of pollinators.

“Pumpkin is less pollinated by ants,” he said. Sinu says. In pumpkin, male and female flowers on separate stalks. About 90% of the flowers are male. Both types of flowers are pollinated by alternating bees. Although it is generally estimated that ants are less likely to infest flowers by default, there are about 10 species of ants that feed on honey in pumpkin flowers. Native ants range in size from one to 10 per flower, while invasive invasive ants (yello crazy ant, black crazy ant) ​​are found in more than 100 flowers.

Anjana Unni, Prashant Ballullaya, Sajad Mir and TP were in the study group. Rajesh and Thomas Jose observed the behavior of bees on male and female flowers with and without ants. It was found that bees do not visit flowers with ants. Bees try to suck nectar from flowers that have less ants, but are often caught by ants. None of the female flowers with ants produced fruit. Although ants can be a pollinator in many plants, this is not possible in plants belonging to the genus Cucurbitaceae, including pumpkins. Sinu points out.