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              Scientists Say Car Fumes Affect Pollinating Insects

   by George Putic

   Insects that pollinate flowers and crops face an increasingly complex -
   and distracting - world of smells.

   Their olfactory receptors are activated by all scents - the natural
   smell of blossoms and grasses, as well as man-made ones, such as fumes
   from car and truck engines. Researchers at the University of Washington
   and University of Arizona say those background odors can mask floral
   scents. As a consequence, insects spend more time and energy looking
   for flowers.

   Using advanced instruments, the researchers found that background odors
   significantly influenced how a moth called Manduca sexta detected
   flower scents, both in nature and in laboratory settings. Writing in
   the [1]journal Science, they report the moths, which can detect odors
   about as well as dogs can, were easily misled by non-floral scents.

   The scientists now plan to look at honeybees to see whether emissions
   from cities affect pollination at surrounding farms.





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   [2]http://www.voanews.com/content/scientists-say-car-fumes-affect-polli
   nating-insects/1946614.html

References

   1. http://www.sciencemag.org/content/344/6191/1515
   2. http://www.voanews.com/content/scientists-say-car-fumes-affect-pollinating-insects/1946614.html