Radio 4 programme on Pollination available on BBC Sounds

An episode of Radio 4's In Our Time programme on 6 March 2025, focussed on Pollination. Beginner and experienced beekeepers are likely to enjoy and learn from this episode. It's available to listen to on catch-up:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m0028jtx

A discussion of how plants attract insects, and insects find flowers from which they extract nectar and pollen - both food sources - and pollinate the plant in the process.

Since plants have to mate and produce offspring while rooted to the spot, they have to be pollinated – by wind, water, or animals – most commonly insects. They use a surprising array of tricks to attract pollinators: striking colours, iridescent light effects, and enticing scents, to name but a few.

Insects, on the other hand, do not seek to pollinate plants – they are looking for food; so plants make sure it’s worth their while. Insects are also remarkably sophisticated in their ability to find, recognise and find their way inside flowers.

So pollination has evolved as a complex dance between plants and pollinators that is essential for life on earth to continue.

With

• Beverley Glover, Director of the Cambridge University Botanic Garden

• Jane Memmott, Professor of Ecology at the University of Bristol

• Lars Chittka, Professor of Sensory and Behavioural Ecology at Queen Mary, University of London.