Pollution vs pollination: Bugs losing battle to filthy air

The right odour: A tobacco hornworn moth feeds from a Sacred Dutura flower while flying through a wind tunnel at the University of Washington in Seattle.

Scientists are discovering that human-made air pollution is meddling with the 'noses' of pollinating insects, which may have adverse effects on our food supply.

You think your nose likes flowers? Well, certainly not as much as the tobacco hornworn moth (Manduca sexta). In fact, its life depends on it. These moths, whose olfactory abilities are as good as a bloodhound’s and vastly better than a human's, can fly up to 130km a night searching for their favourite flowers such as the Sacred Datura (Datura wrightii).