Stickiness Is A Weapon Some Plants Use To Fend Off Hungry Insects

A great many plants have evolved sticky leaves, stems and seeds, including some you likely know – such as petunias and tobacco.

Historians know that turkey and corn were part of the first Thanksgiving, when Wampanoag peoples shared a harvest meal with the pilgrims of Plymouth plantation in Massachusetts.

There is growing evidence that being in natural spaces – whether while gardening or listening to bird song – has a positive effect on mental health.

I am a plant microbiologist interested in how plants and microbes interact with each other. Although our research in the past has centered on molecular details of pathogenic infections, this work led my lab into the fascinating world of plant microbiome.

Tourism in the South Pacific has been hit hard by COVID-19 border closures with thousands of people out of work.

They’re not the first generation to keep house plants, but millennials seem to have earned a reputation for gratuitous indoor foliage.

Whether and how schools will reopen in September given COVID-19 has been discussed in news and social media throughout the summer.

Since lockdown, public interest in growing fruit and vegetables at home has soared. Seed packets are flying off shelves and allotment waiting lists are swelling, with one council receiving a 300% increase in applications. 

Home gardening is having a boom year across the U.S. Whether they’re growing their own food in response to pandemic shortages or just looking for a diversion, numerous aspiring gardeners have constructed their first raised beds, and seeds are flying off suppliers’ shelves.

Some of the fruits and vegetables you buy have seeds in them. Can you plant those? It depends.

Many Americans are now experiencing an erratic food supply for the first time. Among COVID-19’s disruptions are bare supermarket shelves and items available yesterday but nowhere to be found today.

When you settle down for bed, after the birds and bees have hushed, moths are just starting their work.

With the arrival of spring, many people have been starting to think about how COVID-19 will impact the affordability and availability of fruits and vegetables in coming months, as shortages of both honeybees and migrant workers threaten crop pollination and the food that comes with it.

Insects, which include more than a million known species, represent roughly two-thirds of the described biodiversity on Earth.

Many people are trying to grow their own food during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Hands are sketching plans onto paper.

The first days of spring – brighter and warmer – are a biological trigger for female bees to wake up from hibernation and begin to build future colonies.

The coronavirus pandemic has set off a global gardening boom. In the early days of lockdown, seed suppliers were depleted of inventory and reported “unprecedented” demand.

There is a long history of looking to one’s own garden or small farm when the weight of economic and political chaos becomes too much to bear.

Did you ever wonder what causes that earthy smell that rises after a light summer rain?

Being stuck at home during lockdown could be a golden opportunity to reset your connection with nature.

Right now, the best thing we can do to help stop the alarming spread of coronavirus is to stay home. But that doesn’t mean we can’t find pleasure in nature or help the environment.

Just like humans, animals like living near coastal plains and waterways. In fact, cities such as Sydney and Melbourne are “biodiversity hotspots”

Millions of Americans enjoy feeding and watching backyard birds. Many people make a point of putting food out in winter, when birds needs extra energy, and spring, when many species build nests and raise young.