Pat Willmer
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Pat Willmer | |
|---|---|
| Alma mater | University of Cambridge |
| Scientific career | |
| Institutions | University of St Andrews |
Patricia 'Pat' Gillian Willmer is an entomologist and ecologist in the UK. She is emeritus professor of zoology at the University of St Andrews and is an expert in pollination.[1]
Willmer was initially a neurobiologist at the University of Cambridge, before moving into invertebrate physiology and eventually insect plant interactions.[2]
She has researched pollination biology for over 30 years[3] and she supports agricultural environmental schemes such as wildflower strips to support pollinating insects and enhance crop pollination.[4]
Some of her interesting findings include flowers can change colour such as the legume Desmodium setigerum which changes from lilac to white to turquoise after being visited by a pollinating bee;[5] and acacia plants that manipulate the ants that defend them, releasing a compound mimicking the ant alarm pheromone when they flower so that pollinating insects such as bees can visit.[6]