Pollen-deprived bumblebees may speed up plant blooming by biting leaves
In a pollen shortage, bees can make tomatoes bloom early by nipping foliage
A bumblebee sinks its mouthparts into a plant leaf to nip a small hole. Little cuts like this seem to jolt plants into starting to flower early — good news for a bee deprived of pollen.
Hannier Pulido, C. De Moraes, Mescher Laboratories