Today I have both good and bad news. The good news is that we have got some results! After three thorough field studies at three different latitudes and altitudes, we have figured out what flowers the hoverflies like and don’t like. To keep the suspense, I will only tell you that in the Himalayas they like small, yellow flowers that are star-shaped while they dislike big, purple flowers shaped like trumpets. In India, Shannon’s lab are working hard with creating artificial flowers according to the sketches I have made (below). Around the flowers in the figure, chemical compositions of what the flowers smell like are flying around. In the pilot tries, the artificial flowers have already lured butterflies to approach! At the moment it is not hoverfly season so we don’t know if they will be interested too, but it is amazing to know that the butterflies are!
The bad news is that today is my last day in the project. During the last 19 months, I have evaluated equipment, changed equipment, tested things, performed real field studies in the Indian Himalayas and Uppsala, Sweden, analyzed data again and again, and finally figured out what the hoverflies like. Unfortunately, the money is running out and the project’s future is a bit unclear for the Swedish part. Shannon will continue in India and Karin will try to keep going in Australia. We are applying for money in Sweden since we would like to try the artificial flowers and see if they can attract hoverflies and get them to pollinate the nearby crops in Sweden as well. If the project gets funding, I will surely be back, hopefully in just a few months. But if not, I say thank you and ask you to check the blog once in a while since I know Karin is up to some very interesting things during the spring that she wants to share with you.
Kind regards
/Josefin
Kind regards
/Josefin