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Why do bees/pollinators pollinate other plants?
(lemmy.world)
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this post was submitted on 11 Aug 2023
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Were those hairs evolutionarily selected for because they help the bees spread their food source, or do they serve another purpose?
Ha I was writing another comment on this thread when this got posted, but I just feel like it's important, relevant to that, to say that the hairs didn't evolve FOR any specific purpose.
Well said. Evolution doesn't have a goal. I ran into the difficulty when teaching is that students tended to assign purpose to mutations that are currently beneficial.
Possibly when furrier bees evolved, it could be that the fur was protecting them from harsh weather conditions and allowing them to fly further and making it to more flowers. The fur builds electrostatic forces as the bee went along with its day. Serving another beneficail purpose by attracting more pollen to stick onto their bodies. The bees also use the fur to wipe pollen from their eyes and off their legs.
Essentially furrier bees were more successful at feeding their offspring than non-fur bees. Which was selecting for even furrier bees in the following generations continuing to the furry honeybees we see today.
I would point out that the furry bees transfer more pollen, which leads to more of the plants and ultimately flowers that the bee likes.
Therefore the furry bees have an advantage by increasing their own food supply.