Flowers are evolving due to a lack of insects

In recent decades, global insect numbers have declined so much that flowers have taken reproduction matters into their own hands, er, petals, and are increasingly evolving to pollinate themselves, according to a new peer-reviewed study.

Researchers from the French National Centre for Scientific Research ran a genetic analysis of modern field pansies from Europe and North America against older ones grown from seeds collected in the 1990s and 2000s.

• They found modern plants showed a 27% increase in self-pollination rates along with a 20% decrease in nectar production, since the plants were being visited less frequently by insects.
• Other aspects of the field pansies, including the leaf size and the total size of the plant, haven't changed significantly across the decades.

The researchers concluded that modern wild flowers appear stuck in a negative feedback cycle in which plants produce less nectar, meaning there is less food available to insects, which in turn accelerates the declines of both groups.

The trend towards self-pollination may prove useful in the future. Biologists planning for upcoming human trips to Mars believe some self-pollinating plants – in combination with certain insects who add soil nutrients – hold the key to growing food on the red planet.