Subscribe now

Life

Plants laced with a variety of fungi are more popular with bees

Bees visited flowers on plants inoculated with diverse fungi more than plants without this treatment – but not every combination of fungus had the same effect

By James Dinneen

5 December 2024

A bee pollinating a squash flower

Roman Kýbus/Alamy

Plants treated with diverse species of fungi that live on roots grew larger flowers, prompting bees to visit them more often and spend more time there.

“[These fungi] might not only have benefits for the plant itself, or for the soil, but also for the pollinators,” says Aidee Guzman at Stanford University in California.

Guzman and her colleagues grew squash plants (Cucurbita pepo) inoculated with four combinations of different species of mycorrhizal fungi. These fungi live on…

Sign up to our weekly newsletter

Receive a weekly dose of discovery in your inbox! We'll also keep you up to date with New Scientist events and special offers.

Sign up

To continue reading, subscribe today with our introductory offers