🎬 Pollution responsible for the loss of smell of pollinators. 🐝💨

🐝 Thanks to the olfactory receptors located on their antennae, pollinating insects are sensitive to several characteristics of the flower, such as shape, color and odor. They will associate the smell with the presence of nectar or pollen that they feed on.

🚗💨 The problem, when they live on the roadside, is that they don't smell much anymore.

👉 A study by researcher James M.W. Ryalls, published on January 18, 2022 in the journal Environmental pollution shows that common air pollutants such as nitrogen oxides (found in car exhaust) and ozone reduce the foraging efficiency of pollinators.

⚠️ Air pollution is thus also one of the important but underestimated factors contributing to the decline of pollinators.