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Bombus Occidentalis
''Bombus occidentalis'', the western bumble bee, is one of around 30 bumblebee, bumble bee species present in the western United States and western Canada.Pocket Guide to Identifying The Western Bumble Bee ''Bombus occidentalis''. The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation. A recent review of all of its close relatives worldwide appears to have confirmed its status as a separate species. Description Western bumble bee workers have three main color variations.Bumble bees: western bumble bee (''Bombus occidentalis'').The Xerces Society for Inver ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Edward Lee Greene
Edward Lee Greene (August 20, 1843–November 10, 1915) was an American botanist known for his numerous publications including the two-part ''Landmarks of Botanical History'' and the describing of over 4,400 species of plants in the American West. Early life Edward Lee Greene was born on August 20, 1843, in Hopkinton, Rhode Island. In 1859 Greene moved to Wisconsin and began studying at Albion Academy, a very reputable institution with a religious emphasis. There Greene met Thure Kumlien, a Swedish naturalist with an interest in botany. Greene accompanied Kumlein on field trips, further developing Greene's interest in botany. In August 1862, Greene joined his father and brothers in joining the 13th Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry Regiment of the Union Army. Though he never rose above the rank of private in his three years of service, Greene was able to advance his botanical studies, collecting specimens as he marched through Tennessee, Kentucky and Alabama. Following his re ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hymenoptera
Hymenoptera is a large order of insects, comprising the sawflies, wasps, bees, and ants. Over 150,000 living species of Hymenoptera have been described, in addition to over 2,000 extinct ones. Many of the species are parasitic. Females typically have a special ovipositor for inserting eggs into hosts or places that are otherwise inaccessible. This ovipositor is often modified into a stinger. The young develop through holometabolism (complete metamorphosis)—that is, they have a wormlike larval stage and an inactive pupal stage before they reach adulthood. Etymology The name Hymenoptera refers to the wings of the insects, but the original derivation is ambiguous. All references agree that the derivation involves the Ancient Greek πτερόν (''pteron'') for wing. The Ancient Greek ὑμήν (''hymen'') for membrane provides a plausible etymology for the term because species in this order have membranous wings. However, a key characteristic of this order is that the hi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cherry
A cherry is the fruit of many plants of the genus ''Prunus'', and is a fleshy drupe (stone fruit). Commercial cherries are obtained from cultivars of several species, such as the sweet '' Prunus avium'' and the sour '' Prunus cerasus''. The name 'cherry' also refers to the cherry tree and its wood, and is sometimes applied to almonds and visually similar flowering trees in the genus ''Prunus'', as in " ornamental cherry" or " cherry blossom". Wild cherry may refer to any of the cherry species growing outside cultivation, although ''Prunus avium'' is often referred to specifically by the name "wild cherry" in the British Isles. Botany True cherries ''Prunus'' subg. ''Cerasus'' contains species that are typically called cherries. They are known as true cherries and distinguished by having a single winter bud per axil, by having the flowers in small corymbs or umbels of several together (occasionally solitary, e.g. ''P. serrula''; some species with short racemes, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Apple
An apple is a round, edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus'' spp.). Fruit trees of the orchard or domestic apple (''Malus domestica''), the most widely grown in the genus, are agriculture, cultivated worldwide. The tree originated in Central Asia, where its wild ancestor, ''Malus sieversii'', is still found. Apples have been grown for thousands of years in Eurasia before they were introduced to North America by European colonization of the Americas, European colonists. Apples have cultural significance in many mythological, mythologies (including Norse mythology, Norse and Greek mythology, Greek) and religions (such as Christianity in Europe). Apples grown from seeds tend to be very different from those of their parents, and the resultant fruit frequently lacks desired characteristics. For commercial purposes, including botanical evaluation, apple cultivars are propagated by clonal grafting onto rootstocks. Apple trees grown without rootstocks tend to be larger and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Avocado
The avocado, alligator pear or avocado pear (''Persea americana'') is an evergreen tree in the laurel family (Lauraceae). It is native to Americas, the Americas and was first domesticated in Mesoamerica more than 5,000 years ago. It was prized for its large and unusually Avocado oil, oily fruit. The tree likely originated in the highlands bridging south-central Mexico and Guatemala. Avocado trees have a native growth range from Mexico to Costa Rica. Its fruit, sometimes also referred to as an alligator pear or avocado pear, is botanically a large Berry (botany), berry containing a single large seed. Sequencing of its genome showed that the evolution of avocados was shaped by polyploidy events and that commercial varieties have a Hybrid (biology), hybrid origin. Avocado trees are partly Self-pollination, self-pollinating, and are often Plant propagation, propagated through grafting to maintain consistent fruit output. Avocados are presently cultivated in the tropical and Medi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Medicago Sativa
Alfalfa () (''Medicago sativa''), also called lucerne, is a perennial flowering plant in the legume family Fabaceae. It is cultivated as an important forage crop in many countries around the world. It is used for grazing, hay, and silage, as well as a green manure and cover crop. The name alfalfa is used in North America. The name lucerne is more commonly used in the United Kingdom, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand. The plant superficially resembles clover (a cousin in the same family), especially while young, when trifoliate leaves comprising round leaflets predominate. Later in maturity, leaflets are elongated. It has clusters of small purple flowers followed by fruits spiralled in two to three turns containing 10–20 seeds. Alfalfa is native to warmer temperate climates. It has been cultivated as livestock fodder since at least the era of the ancient Greeks and Romans. Description Alfalfa is a perennial forage legume which normally lives four to eight years, but ca ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cranberry
Cranberries are a group of evergreen dwarf shrubs or trailing vines in the subgenus ''Oxycoccus'' of the genus ''Vaccinium''. Cranberries are low, creeping shrubs or vines up to long and in height; they have slender stems that are not thickly woody and have small evergreen leaves. The flowers are dark pink. The fruit is a berry (botany), berry that is larger than the leaves of the plant; it is initially light green, turning red when ripe. It is edible, but has an acidic taste. In Britain, ''cranberry'' may refer to the native species ''Vaccinium oxycoccos'', while in North America, ''cranberry'' may refer to ''Vaccinium macrocarpon''. ''Vaccinium oxycoccos'' is cultivated in central and northern Europe, while ''V. macrocarpon'' is cultivated throughout the northern United States, Canada and Chile. In some methods of classification, ''Oxycoccus'' is regarded as a genus in its own right. Cranberries can be found in acidic bogs throughout the cooler regions of the North ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Capsicum
''Capsicum'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the Solanum, nightshade family Solanaceae, native to the Americas, cultivated worldwide for their edible fruit, which are generally known as "peppers" or "capsicum". Chili peppers grow on five species of ''Capsicum''. Bell peppers, Sweet or bell peppers and some chili peppers are ''Capsicum annuum'', making it the most cultivated species in the genus. History ''Capsicum'' is native to South America and Central America. These plants have been evolving for 17 million years. It was domesticated and Mesoamerican agriculture, cultivated at least since 3000 BC, as evidenced by remains of chili peppers found in pottery from Puebla and Oaxaca. Etymology and names The generic name may come from Latin , meaning 'box', presumably alluding to the pods; or possibly from the Greek language, Greek word , , 'to gulp'. The name ''pepper'' comes from the similarity of piquance (spiciness or "heat") of the flavor to that of black pepper, ''Piper ( ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tomato
The tomato (, ), ''Solanum lycopersicum'', is a plant whose fruit is an edible Berry (botany), berry that is eaten as a vegetable. The tomato is a member of the nightshade family that includes tobacco, potato, and chili peppers. It originated from and was domesticated in western South America. It was introduced to the Old World by the Spanish in the Columbian exchange in the 16th century. Tomato plants are vines, largely Annual plant, annual and vulnerable to frost, though sometimes living longer in greenhouses. The flowers are able to self-fertilise. Modern varieties have been bred to ripen uniformly red, in a process that has impaired the fruit's sweetness and flavor. There are thousands of cultivars, varying in size, color, shape, and flavor. Tomatoes are attacked by many insect pests and nematodes, and are subject to diseases caused by viruses and by mildew and blight fungi. The tomato has a strong savoury umami flavor, and is an important ingredient in cuisines around ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Buzz Pollination
Buzz pollination or sonication is a technique used by some bees, such as solitary bees and bumblebees, to release pollen which is more or less firmly held by the anthers. The anthers of buzz-pollinated plant species are typically tubular, with an opening at only one end, and the pollen inside is smooth-grained and firmly attached. With self-fertile plants such as tomatoes, wind may be sufficient to shake loose the pollen through pores in the anther and accomplish pollination. Visits by bees may also shake loose some pollen, but more efficient pollination of those plants is accomplished by a few insect species who specialize in sonication or buzz pollination. In order to release the pollen, solitary bees are able to grab onto the flower and move their flight muscles rapidly, causing the flower and anthers to vibrate, dislodging pollen. Pollination involving vibrations is called buzz pollination. Honeybees cannot perform buzz pollination. About 9% of the flowers of the world are pri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Generalist And Specialist Species
A generalist species is able to thrive in a wide variety of environmental conditions and can make use of a variety of different resources (for example, a heterotroph with a varied diet). A specialist species can thrive only in a narrow range of environmental conditions or has a limited diet. Most organisms do not all fit neatly into either group, however. Some species are highly specialized (the most extreme case being monophagous, eating one specific type of food), others less so, and some can tolerate many different environments. In other words, there is a continuum from highly specialized to broadly generalist species. Description Omnivores are usually generalists. Herbivores are often specialists, but those that eat a variety of plants may be considered generalists. A well-known example of a specialist animal is the monophagous koala, which subsists almost entirely on eucalyptus leaves. The raccoon is a generalist, because it has a natural range that includes most of Nor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nosema Apis
''Nosema apis'' is a microsporidian, a small, unicellular parasite recently reclassified as a fungus that mainly affects honey bees. It causes nosemosis, also called nosema, which is the most common and widespread of adult honey bee diseases. The dormant stage of ''N. apis'' is a long-lived spore which is resistant to temperature extremes and dehydration, and cannot be killed by freezing the contaminated comb. Nosemosis is a listed disease with the Office International des Epizooties (OIE). Pathology ''Nosema apis'' is a single-celled parasite of the western honey bee (''Apis mellifera''). The species is of the class Microsporidia, which were previously thought to be protozoans, but are now classified as fungi or fungi-related. Microsporidia are intracellular parasites and they infect the epithelial cells of the midgut. ''N. apis'' has a resistant spore that withstands temperature extremes and dehydration. In 1996, a similar microsporidian parasite of the eastern honey be ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
