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Micrographs of Borago officinalis pollen grains. a. Polar view, LM. b. Equatorial view, LM. c. Polar view, SEM. d. Equatorial view, SEM.
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The three-year study on borage was conducted in Lublin, SE Poland. The aims were to investigate the flowering pattern and abundance, and the attractiveness (in terms of nectar and pollen production) for flower-visiting insects, mainly bees. Insect visitation and the effect of pollinators on fruit set and seed set were assessed as well. Flowering of...
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... effect of the year (F 2, 23 = 1.65, p = 0.22), whereas the pollen amount · 1m -2 of the crop differed significantly among the years of the study (F 2, 33 = 4.61, p = 0.02). During the growing season, one borage plant provided 1. 1 ± 0.5 g (n = 52) of pollen, i.e. 5.21 ± 2.01 g (n= 36) · m -2 of the crop. Borage pollen grains are stephanocolporate (Fig. 4) with the average length of the polar axis (P) of 33.5 mm (range 30.3-38.7 mm) and that of the equatorial axis (E) of 34.0 mm (range 31.3-39.2 mm). The shape index (P/E) is 0.99. Table 3. Pollen production in Borago officinalis during growing seasons ...
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Citations
... The observed behaviour suggests that the queen can feed herself under natural conditions, probably to obtain the energy needed for flying. shorter than that of the worker [1], it could be suitable for sucking nectar from the borage flower thanks to the open, shallow corolla, and the excellent nectar secretion of this flower [2]. Other visible peculiarities observed were the typical distally bilobed shape of the mandibles, with the outer lobe being a long toothlike projection, the presence of long hairs in the outer surface of the mandibles, and the enormously developed abdomen [1]. ...
... Observing the details of the photos ( Figure 2) and of the sampled specimen, under the stereomicroscope, some characteristic morphological traits of the honey bee queen were confirmed, such as the evident extended proboscis for collecting nectar. Although the queen's proboscis is shorter than that of the worker [1], it could be suitable for sucking nectar from the borage flower thanks to the open, shallow corolla, and the excellent nectar secretion of this flower [2]. Other visible peculiarities observed were the typical distally bilobed shape of the mandibles, with the outer lobe being a long toothlike projection, the presence of long hairs in the outer surface of the mandibles, and the enormously developed abdomen [1]. ...
During a bee fauna survey in the countryside of northern Sardinia, a honey bee queen (Apis mellifera L.) was detected while foraging on a borage (Borago officinalis L.) flower in Uri, Province of Sassari, Italy, most likely during an orientation flight before mating. Morphological details, detectable from photos with the naked eye and stereomicroscopic observations, confirmed that the honey bee queen was sucking nectar from a flower. The enormous development of the abdomen, lack of pollen-collecting structures in the legs and other characteristics such as the typical distally bilobed shape of the mandibles, with long hairs on their outer surface, proved the structural differences between the queen specimen and the other castes of bees. The queen’s proboscis, which is shorter compared to the workers, may have been counterbalanced by the shape and nectar production of the borage flower. This new observation proves that the queen can feed herself under natural conditions, likely to obtain the energy required for flying. Although we cannot exclude disturbing factors that could explain this foraging behaviour of a queen observed for the first time, this note opens a new scenario and discusses this new finding in the context of the available literature on the queen’s behaviour and questions to be answered.
Elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide (eCO2) can affect plant growth and physiology, which can, in turn, impact herbivorous insects, including by altering pollen or plant tissue nutrition. Previous research suggests that eCO2 can reduce pollen nutrition in some species, but it is unknown whether this effect is consistent across flowering plant species. We experimentally quantified the effects of eCO2 across multiple flowering plant species on plant growth in 9 species and pollen chemistry (%N an estimate for protein content and nutrition in 12 species; secondary chemistry in 5 species) in greenhouses. For pollen nutrition, only buckwheat significantly responded to eCO2, with %N increasing in eCO2; CO2 treatment did not affect pollen amino acid composition but altered secondary metabolites in buckwheat and sunflower. Plant growth under eCO2 exhibited two trends across species: plant height was taller in 44% of species and flower number was affected for 63% of species (3 species with fewer and 2 species with more flowers). The remaining growth metrics (leaf number, above-ground biomass, flower size, and flowering initiation) showed divergent, species-specific responses, if any. Our results indicate that future eCO2 is unlikely to uniformly change pollen chemistry or plant growth across flowering species but may have the potential to alter ecological interactions, or have particularly important effects on specialized pollinators.
La bioéconomie, dans son ambition de substitution du carbone fossile par du carbone renouvelable, est structurée par la création de filières biosourcées. Cependant, l'origine végétale d'une filière ne garantit pas sa durabilité. En considérant la filière comme méso-système, cet article explore la manière dont la durabilité, qu'elle soit considérée comme forte ou faible, est prise en compte dans la littérature académique sur la bioéconomie et les filières biosourcées. À partir du constat du manque d'intégration simultanée des dimensions sociales, environnementales et économiques des dimensions de la durabilité et de la faible quantité de travaux réalisés de manière holistique, nous proposons de mettre en place une méthodologie pour analyser et construire des chaînes de valeur biosourcées et durables en prenant appui sur les principes de l'éco-conception et de l'analyse du cycle de vie, en nous appuyant sur l'exemple de la création d'une micro filière de bourrache dans les Hauts de France.
ABSTRACT. The bioeconomy, in its ambition to replace fossil carbon by renewable carbon, is structured by the creation of bio-based value chains. However, the organic origin of a value chain does not guarantee its sustainability. By considering the value chain as a meso-system, this article explores how sustainability, whether considered strong or weak, is taken into account in in the academic literature on the bioeconomy and bio-based value chains. Based on the lack of simultaneous integration of social, environmental and economic dimensions of sustainability and the small amount of work analyzing value chains in a holistic way, we propose to set up a methodology to analyze and build sustainable bio-based value chains based on the principles of eco-design and life cycle assessment, using the example of the creation of a borage micro value chain in the Hauts de France.
