Air pollution is preventing insects from sniffing out the crops and wildflowers that depend on them, according to new research.
Bees and butterflies pollinate plants when they go from flower to flower – boosting reproduction. This process has been interrupted by rising levels of ozone, impacting the survival of both fauna and flora.
Lead author Professor Evgenios Agathokleous, of Nanjing University of Information Science & Technology in China, said: “There is much noise about the direct effects of agrochemicals on pollinators, a subject of profound societal attention. But it now emerges that ozone is a silent threat to pollinators and thus pollination. These impacts of ozone have long been missed.”
