Life as We Know It Whale of a comeback, dancing cockatoos,
sticky bees, and waltzing pond scum - By Amanda Bensen, Joseph
Caputo, T.A. Frail, Laura Helmuth and Abigail Tucker -
Smithsonian magazine, July 2009 Bumblebees search for flower
petals that offer traction, University of Cambridge-led
scientists have shown. Some petals are smooth and slippery, but
others have cone-shaped cells that act like Velcro when bees
touch down. The reward for sticking the landing? Bees can guzzle
nectar more readily. For the flowers' part, more and longer
visits by bees increase the chances of pollination.