Pollinators

Pollinators A pollinator is anything that helps carry pollen from the male part of the flower (stamen) to the female part of the same or another flower (stigma) The movement of pollen must occur for the plant to become fertilized and produce fruits, seeds, and young plants. Some plants are self-pollinating, while others may be fertilized by pollen carried by wind or water. Still other flowers are pollinated by insects and animals, such as bees, wasps, moths, butterflies, birds, flies and small mammals, including bats.

Pollination Insects and other animals such as bats, beetles and flies visit flowers in search of food, shelter, nest-building materials, and sometimes even mates. Some pollinators, including many bee species, intentionally collect pollen to eat. Others, such as many butterflies, birds and bats move pollen accidentally. Pollen sticks on their bodies while they are drinking or feeding on nectar in the flower blooms and is transported unknowingly from flower to flower resulting in pollination.

Why Pollinators Visit Flowers Plants primarily attract pollinators by offering nectar rewards (as a source of sugar for energy) and pollen (as a protein source for developing young) Some orchids, produce scent that attracts the males of a species of bees. Pollinators have also been found to consume floral tissues (the plant itself!) as a reward for assisting with reproduction. Sometimes pollination occurs by deceit. The dead horse arum produces chemical compounds that mimic those produced by carcasses. This attracts carrion flies and traps them in the flower overnight, covering them with pollen.

Pollinator Anatomy

Importance of Pollinators Bees are a keystone species because they are species upon which other species depend A change in the keystone species change in one species would impact the other, and change the entire ecosystem When a bumble bee feeds on the nectar and pollen of huckleberry flowers, it pollinates the flowers, which will produce fruit eaten by songbirds, grizzly bears, and dozens of other animals, including humans.

Importance of Pollinators FOOD One out of every three bites of food you eat exists because of the efforts of pollinators, including many fruits, vegetables, and seeds. Pollinators not only are necessary for our own food, but support the food and habitat of animals. CLEAN AIR Healthy ecosystems depend on pollinators. At least 75 percent of all the flowering plants on earth are pollinated by insects and animals! This amounts to more than 1,200 food crops and 180,000 different types of plants—plants which help stabilize our soils, clean our air, supply oxygen, and support wildlife. ECONOMY In the United States alone, pollination by honey bees contributed to over $19 billion crops in 2010, while pollination by other insect pollinators contributed to nearly $10 billion of crops.

Coevolution Bees and flowers have evolved together for millions of years. It is a mutual relationship where the bee is provided with food (nectar or pollen) and the stationary plant gets to disperse its pollen (sperm cells) to other plants of the same species. Consequently, over millions of years plants have developed flowers with increasingly specialized features to attract visiting bees who, in turn, would distribute pollen grains and optimize the plant’s reproductive capabilities. Simultaneously, bees underwent adaptations to take advantage of the nutritional benefits offered by flowering plants. This is an example of a co-evolutionary relationship.

Videos https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqsXc_aefKI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-h8I3cqpgnA