Bellyful of Stones
It’s not unusual for crocodiles,
alligators, and other crocodilians
to have a stomach full of stones.
Scientists have long assumed
the stones help the semiaquatic
reptiles digest prey; a new study
suggests they also enable the
crocs to spend more time
submerged. —ANNIE ROTHEMBARK | BREAKTHROUGHS
DISPATCHES
FROM THE FRONT LINES
OF SCIENCE
AND INNOVATIONBIODIVERSITYPLANT’S POLLINATOR
SECRETS REVEALED
MORE THAN ONE MOTH SERVES THIS RARE ORCHID
For exotic beauty, few flowers rival the ghost orchid (Dendro-
phylax lindenii). These rare orchids have long nectar tubes into
which moths stick their tonguelike proboscises to reach a sugary
reward. As they feed, moths rub against a pollen source and pick
up grains they’ll transfer to other orchids they visit.
It’s long been thought that only one insect, the giant sphinx
moth, had a long enough proboscis to pollinate these orchids—
but new images and research refute that. Photographers Carlton
Ward, Jr., and Mac Stone, working with biologists Mark Danaher
(of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) and Peter Houlihan, spent
years preparing and fine-tuning remote cameras. The payoff:
photos of two other moth species with pollen on their bodies
visiting ghost orchids in Florida parks (above, a streaked sphinx
in Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge). Meanwhile, new
measurements suggest that even more moth species may be able
to reach the orchid’s nectar. “It’s incredible,” Ward says, to make a
discovery about this “symbol of hidden wildness.” —DOUGLAS MAINSPACEPreserving
Meteorites
for Study
Rocks from space
regularly rain down
on our planet, but
only a few survive
the fall. At Arizona
State University’s
Center for Mete-
orite Studies, some
40,000 meteorite
remnants—such as
the rare metal-and-
crystal pallasite
below—are stored
in a humidity-
controlled facility.
The goal is to
keep them free of
contamination so
future generations
can study them
for clues to how
our solar system
formed, and how
we might one day
survive in space.
—MAYA WEI-HAASPHOTOS (FROM TOP): JOEL SARTORE, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC PHOTO ARK; CARLTON WARD, JR.;
LAURENCE GARVIE, CENTER FOR METEORITE STUDIES, ASU