ArticlePloS one2015
Electrostatic Charge on Flying Hummingbirds and Its Potential Role in Pollination.
Article in PloS one, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers.
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Who cites it
12 citing papers in PubMed.
- Electrosensitivity in planthoppers (Insecta: Hemiptera: Auchenorrhyncha: Fulgoromorpha).Journal of comparative physiology. A, Neuroethology, sensory, neural, and behavioral physiology · 2026Article
- The sensory ecology of caterpillars.Journal of comparative physiology. A, Neuroethology, sensory, neural, and behavioral physiology · 2026Review
- Electrostatics facilitate midair host attachment in parasitic jumping nematodes.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2025Article
- Electroreception in treehoppers: How extreme morphologies can increase electrical sensitivity.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2025Article
- Electric transportation and electroreception in hummingbird flower mites.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2025Article
- Electrostatic pollination by butterflies and moths.Journal of the Royal Society, Interface · 2024Article
- Static electricity passively attracts ticks onto hosts.Current biology : CB · 2023Article
- Observed electric charge of insect swarms and their contribution to atmospheric electricity.iScience · 2022Article
- Can electrostatic fields limit the take-off of tiny whiteflies (Bemisia tabaci)?Journal of comparative physiology. A, Neuroethology, sensory, neural, and behavioral physiology · 2020Article
- Potential Risk to Pollinators from Nanotechnology-Based Pesticides.Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2019Review
- The Double-Aspect of Life.Biology · 2018Article
- Electric fields of flowers stimulate the sensory hairs of bumble bees.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2016Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Electrostatic phenomena are known to enhance both wind- and insect-mediated pollination, but have not yet been described for nectar-feeding vertebrates. Here we demonstrate that wild Anna's Hummingbirds (Calypte anna) can carry positive charges up to 800 pC while in flight (mean ± s.d.: 66 ± 129 pC). Triboelectric charging obtained by rubbing an isolated hummingbird wing against various plant structures generated charges up to 700 pC. A metal hummingbird model charged to 400 pC induced bending of floral stamens in four plants (Nicotiana, Hemerocallis, Penstemon, and Aloe spp.), and also attracted falling Lycopodium spores at distances of < 2 mm. Electrostatic forces may therefore influence pollen transfer onto nectar-feeding birds.
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Registered trials
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