The new queen of pollination modes (get it? bees, queens, pollination!)

While Winny tries to catch up on all the life (and bioinformatics work) missed while she was grounded by computer woes I am blogging to wish you all a Happy American Thanksgiving. Happy American Thanksgiving all.

One of the main things Winny missed while hanging out with the computing help staff was my ebullient emails to her about her progress. After weeks of reading old books on pollination modes, new papers suggesting we know nothing about pollination and visiting many websites, transcribing many, many (I repeat, many) pollination modes, Winny had 2,228 known pollination modes (at the species, genus or family level)! I ran this through a list of 16,659 species I was hoping we could get pollination mode data for and we have it for 77% of them -- or 14,490 species. I think Winny's known modes tab is probably the most complete directory of pollination modes anywhere.

So in summary, Winny -- the best and brightest new plant traits informatician I know - you rock!

That's Winny entering data buried in the Principles of Pollination Ecology. Back in the day when things with her computer were swell.

Winny will be back with an exciting end-of-term blog in the next week or so, so stay tuned for the final chapter of our current plant traits journey. Then I will round out the year with news from a trip to Santa Barbara for work and a visit to the Entomological Society of America, to be held right here in the happening hotel circle neighborhood of San Diego (I jest, about the 'happening,' the meeting really is in San Diego).

Holiday season started this week in San Diego: The beach-ball tree at Ocean Beach and lights up el Prado at Balboa Park. I admit we're a little Christian-centric here (it's a military town!) so apologies on the uni-denomination theme.