Night-flying moths pollinate papaya as much as daytime bees, a Kenyan farm study finds
On small papaya farms in Kenya, moths that fly at night help the trees make fruit just as much as bees do by day. Researchers covered flowers only by day, or only by night, and the two groups' work added together.
Why it matters
Papaya flowers need pollination: pollen must move from flower to flower, or no fruit grows. Almost all efforts to protect pollinating insects focus on bees, so the night workers are easy to forget. If bright lights, sprays or lost wild habitat harm these moths, harvests could drop even where bees are doing fine. The same farms also produced 37% less fruit than flowers pollinated by hand, so real food is being lost for want of insect visits. This is one crop in one hilly region, and other scientists have not checked it yet, so treat it as a strong hint rather than a settled rule.
Who's behind it: M. Otieno and colleagues, Ecology researchers working in the Taita Hills, Kenya.
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