Plants have many tricks in their hat to attract pollinators—vivid colours, attractive scents, exciting shapes and patterns, heat and also electric potential. But what is fascinating is how these pollinators process these attractive cues from various plants to pick which flower to visit. If you love chocolates, which one would you choose in a big bag of assorted chocolates? Well, most pollinators must have a similar dilemma. Now, a recent study throws some insights into how insects process so many cues from flowers.

Fig trees are a magnificent keystone species that support a variety of life, both large and small. Scientists from the Indian Institute of Science study how these trees, with the help of their pollinators, are keeping Bengaluru’s green cover alive through genetic diversity.