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Curious Nature

Pollination: Teamwork at its finest

Posted by Walking Mountains on Aug 1, 2016 2:16:59 AM
Walking Mountains
About Pollination and How Pollination with Bees HappensWhat is pollination?

Pollination, essentially, is plant sex. More specifically, it is the act of transferring pollen grains from the male anther of a flower to the female stigma. The goal is to create new offspring for the next generation. One type of plant offspring is produced by creating seeds. Seeds contain the genetic information to produce a new plant and flowers are, most simply, the tools that plants use to create new seeds.

 

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How does pollen get from one flower to another?

Flowers must rely on something called vectors to move the pollen for them. Vectors can include wind, water, insects, butterflies, birds, bats, and other animals that visit the flower. Animals or insects that transfer pollen from one flower to another are called “pollinators”. Pollinators unintentionally pollinate flowers. They’re only thinking about eating or collecting pollen, or sipping nectar for protein and their own nutrition. But while on the flower, pollen grains will attach themselves to the animal's body. When they visit a new flower, those grains will fall off onto the flower’s stigma, which will hopefully lead to successful reproduction of the flower. One of nature's best pollinators are bees. There are over 4,000 species of native bees in the United States. The flower seeking pollen magnates purposefully visit flowers to collect pollen and nectar for food for themselves and their young. Colorado native bees include mason, leaf cutter, sweat, squash, and bumble bees. Leaf cutter bees are used by farmers to pollinate alfalfa fields. Mason bees are used in orchards for their pollination skills.


What is Pollination Syndrome?

Plants and pollinators have co evolved physical characteristics to make them to interact with each other. They have a mutualistic relationship, where both benefit from the other. The plants benefit by attracting a particular type of pollinator to its flower, ensuring pollen will be spread to other flowers. Pollinators benefit from adapting to a particular flower, which ensures it will be able to find enough nectar and pollen.
Food is usually enough to lure pollinators in but plants will also attract them by using different petal shapes, scents, and colors. “Pollination syndromes” is the term used to describe the attraction of certain types of shapes, colors, and fragrances to a range of pollinators.

Some plants use color patterns known as a “bull’s eye” to make them stand out from the rest. One of the best examples of this is the Black Eyed Susan. It has a black center to help it to stand out to pollinators against a background of green foliage.

Flowers also attract pollinators with unusual bright, showy colors and spurs such as Colorado's State Flower, the Blue Columbine. Some flowers have colors in the ultraviolet spectrum, which are invisible to humans, but very attractive to pollinators. These nectar guides guide pollinators to the flower like a plane on a runway. Some nectar guides are visible to humans, such as like pink lines on a White Geranium. This attracts animals and insects to the flower.

What is That? Ask a Naturalist!

The diversity of flower shapes also attracts pollinators. Wide, open and symmetrical flowers, like buttercups and sunflowers, allow easy access to many insects like beetles and butterflies. Bilaterally symmetrical flowers such as monkshood are attractive to bees who like to wiggle up inside enclosed petals. Long tubular flowers like the scarlet gilia are a favorite of hummingbirds whose long tongues are able to reach the nectar hidden inside.

Plants and pollinators working together

Both plants and pollinators work together to benefit each other. Pollinators adapt to specific flowers to ensure they will have enough pollen for survival, and plants adapt to ensure their pollen will be spread from one flower to another. Without this important relationship, we would not see all the beautiful wildflowers that we are so privileged to see. It’s teamwork at its finest!

Alexa Saxton­Bush is a Naturalist and Sustainability intern at Walking Mountains Science Center in Avon. Check out our website to learn about all the programs going on there this summer!

Topics: Curious Nature

Walking Mountains

Written by Walking Mountains

Our mission is to awaken a sense of wonder and inspire environmental stewardship and sustainability through natural science education.