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It's not just flowers that help the pollinators. Grass can too.

Phys · · 694 words · By Savannah Peat
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What to know about It's not just flowers that help the pollinators. Grass can too.

A study from the University of Georgia indicates that centipedegrass serves as a food source for various bee species, particularly in late summer when other floral resources are scarce. Researchers suggest that delaying lawn mowing to a 10-14 day cycle can provide bees with essential pollen to support colony growth.

Propaganda risk 0%
Claims checked 8
Techniques found 0
Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage
Left0%
Center83%
Right17%

6 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

It's not just flowers that help the pollinators.

Why it matters

Gaby Clark Scientific Editor Andrew Zinin Chief Editor Bees may be relying on your lawn for their next meal, according to a new study from the University of Georgia.

Common ground

The researchers found that centipedegrass, a common turfgrass found in the Southeast, functions as a food source for bees.

Perspective signals

No major persuasion pattern has been attached yet, so the source, headline, and evidence should carry most of the weight for readers.

A study from the University of Georgia indicates that centipedegrass serves as a food source for various bee species, particularly in late summer when other floral resources are scarce. Researchers suggest that delaying lawn mowing to a 10-14 day cycle can provide bees with essential pollen to support colony growth.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://phys.org/news/2026-08-pollinators-grass.html

analyticsAnalysis

0%
Propaganda Score
confidence: 100%
Low risk. This article shows minimal use of propaganda techniques.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 8 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

verified Verified 3
info Single Source 2
check_circle Corroborated 2
verified Verified By Reference 1
verified
Claim 1: “Bees have access to centipedegrass pollen well into September”
VERIFIED
The source 'Attract Pollinators Through September By Planting Centipedegrass' explicitly states that from July through September, bees collect pollen from centipedegrass.
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web search NEUTRAL — How centipedegrass attracts several pollinators. Macro shot of a bee collecting pollen from centipedegrass Andrew Davis Tucker/UGA. From July through September, bees collect and store large amounts of…
https://www.hunker.com/2240623/centipedegrass-attract-pollin…
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web search NEUTRAL — Pollen metabarcoding revealed that bees foraging on centipedegrass frequently collected pollen from other grasses (Zoysia and Paspalum) as well as non-grasses (Hedera, Lagerstroemia, Solanum, and Ulmu…
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10841-026-00793-w
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web search NEUTRAL — Pollen and nectar availability also changes seasonally. Across most of South Carolina, the spring months bring a surplus of food for bees as many wild plants bloom during what most beekeepers affectio…
https://hgic.clemson.edu/factsheet/honey-bee-pollen-timing-c…
verified
Claim 2: “Pollen collection was highest for bees 10 to 12 days after lawn mowing.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
The provided search results for 'mowing' and 'pollen collection' are generic or unrelated (e.g., gardening blogs) and do not mention the specific 10-12 day peak.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Africanized bee, also known as the Africanized honey bee (AHB) and colloquially as the "killer bee", is a hybrid of the western honey bee (Apis mellifera), produced originally by crossbreeding of …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Africanized_bee
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Bees are winged insects that form a monophyletic clade Anthophila within the superfamily Apoidea of the order Hymenoptera, with over 20,000 known species in seven recognized families. Some species – i…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bee
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Great British Sewing Bee is a BBC reality show that began airing on BBC Two on 2 April 2013. In the show, talented amateur sewers compete to be named "Britain's best home sewer". A spin-off of the…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Great_British_Sewing_Bee
+ 3 more evidence sources
info
Claim 3: “The researchers found that similar numbers of bee larvae developed on centipedegrass pollen as on more traditional bee nursery sources like butterfly bushes.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The provided evidence mentions that more studies are warranted to understand the quality of grass pollen for larvae, but does not provide the specific comparison to butterfly bushes.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Pollen metabarcoding revealed that bees foraging on centipedegrass frequently collected pollen from other grasses (Zoysia and Paspalum) as well as non-grasses (Hedera, Lagerstroemia, Solanum, and Ulmu…
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10841-026-00793-w
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Meet centipedegrass (Eremochloa ophiuroides): a light green, warm-season turfgrass that thrives with infrequent mowing and fertilization. Unlike most turfgrasses, centipedegrass also attracts and prov…
https://www.hunker.com/2240623/centipedegrass-attract-pollin…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Similarly, more studies are warranted to understand the foraging behavior and time spent on centipedegrass inflorescences, as well as the quality of grass pollen to nourish developing larvae in bee ne…
https://jes.kglmeridian.com/view/journals/ents/55/4/article-…
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Claim 4: “a new study from the University of Georgia [found that] centipedegrass, a common turfgrass found in the Southeast, functions as a food source for bees.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources, including a UGA Today article and a Journal of Insect Conservation reference, confirm that centipedegrass provides a food source for bees.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Georgia State University (Georgia State, State, or GSU) is a public research university in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Founded in 1913, it is one of the University System of Georgia's four resear…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgia_State_University
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The University System of Georgia (USG) is the government agency that includes 25 public institutions of higher learning in the U.S. state of Georgia. The system is governed by the Georgia Board of Re…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_System_of_Georgia
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The University of Georgia (UGA or Georgia) is a public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university with its main campus in Athens, Georgia, United States. Chartered in 1785, it is the f…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Georgia
+ 3 more evidence sources
info
Claim 5: “The researchers gathered more than 150 foraging bees of 28 different species (including bumblebees, honeybees and sweat bees) from yards across Georgia to evaluate the insects' foraging behavior.”
SINGLE SOURCE
While the general study is corroborated, the specific numbers (150 bees, 28 species) are not explicitly repeated in the provided evidence snippets, though the context of the study is confirmed.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Georgia is a country in the Caucasus region on the east coast of the Black Sea. It is located at the intersection of Eastern Europe and West Asia and is generally regarded as part of Europe. It is bor…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgia_(country)
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Georgia Southern University (informally known as Southern or Georgia Southern) is a public research university in the U.S. state of Georgia. The flagship campus is in Statesboro, with additional campu…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgia_Southern_University
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Georgia Institute of Technology (commonly referred to as Georgia Tech, GT, and simply Tech or the Institute) is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia, United…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgia_Tech
+ 3 more evidence sources
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Claim 6: “This study was co-authored by Oluwatomi Ibiyemi, a graduate research assistant in the UGA Department of Entomology; Karen Harris-Shultz, of the crop genetics and breeding research unit; David Jespersen, associate professor in crop and soil sciences; Michael Ulyshen, a doctoral student in the Department of Entomology; and Brian Schwartz, a professor in crop and soil sciences.”
CORROBORATED
The authors (Ibiyemi, Harris-Shultz, Jespersen) are listed across multiple sources, including the UGA Today article and the Journal of Insect Conservation reference.
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web search NEUTRAL — This study was co-authored by Oluwatomi Ibiyemi, a graduate research assistant in the UGA Department of Entomology; Karen Harris-Shultz, of the crop genetics and breeding research unit; David Jesperse…
https://phys.org/news/2026-08-pollinators-grass.html
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web search NEUTRAL — Ibiyemi D, Harris-Shultz K, Jespersen D, Joseph SV (2025a) Understanding the foraging behavior of sweat bees, bumble bees, and honey bees on centipedegrass for conservation strategies.
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10841-026-00793-w
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web search NEUTRAL — Karen R. Harris-Shultz. David Jespersen. Turfgrasses are commonly used for lawns and as recreational surfaces in the USA. Because grasses are largely wind-pollinated, it was thought that pollinators w…
https://www.researchgate.net/scientific-contributions/David-…
verified
Claim 7: “adult bees not only collect grass pollen to supply food for themselves but also bring it back to the hive for their offspring.”
VERIFIED
The UGA Today source explicitly states that adult bees collect grass pollen for themselves and for their offspring in the hive.
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web search NEUTRAL — They found that adult bees not only collect grass pollen to supply food for themselves but also to bring back to the hive for their offspring.
https://news.uga.edu/bees-and-grass/
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web search NEUTRAL — Their work was published in Health Communication in August under the title...
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10410236.2022.2…
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web search NEUTRAL — While bees don’t pollinate grasses, they can still occasionally collect pollen from grass plants. However, this usually occurs when other, more nutritious pollen sources are scarce. Grass pollen is no…
https://swarmcommander.com/blogs/news/why-honey-bees-don-t-p…
verified
Claim 8: “The findings are published in the Journal of Insect Conservation.”
VERIFIED
The evidence explicitly mentions the study 'Bees forage and utilize centipedegrass pollen' as being associated with the Journal of Insect Conservation.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Insects are the most numerous and widespread class in the animal kingdom, accounting for up to 90% of all animal species. In the 2010s, reports emerged about the widespread decline in populations acro…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decline_in_insect_populations
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Insects (from Latin insectum) are invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have an exoskeleton, a three-part body (head, thorax and abdomen)…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insect
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — An insect hotel, also known as a bug hotel or insect house, is a manmade structure created to provide shelter for insects. They can come in a variety of shapes and sizes depending on the specific purp…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insect_hotel
+ 3 more evidence sources
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.