Pollinators Caelyn D, Megan F, Joe K For our first lesson we talked about the pollination process. Now we are going to talk about who is doing the pollinating.

Pollinator or Nah?

Pollinators are living organisms that aid in the pollination process Pollinators are living organisms that aid in the pollination process. For many pollinators, they feed on the sweet nectar that flowers provide [hummingbirds, bats, etc] Plants pollinated by bats often have pale nocturnal flowers (in contrast, bees are mostly attracted to bright, daytime flowers). These flowers are often large and bell shaped, and some bats have evolved specifically to reach the nectar at the bottom of them. Hummingbird flowers usually have little or no fragrance. The hummingbirds bill fits perfectly into the long, tube-shaped flowers of these plants. Hummingbirds are important pollinators, for when they feed their forehead rubs against the stamens and pistils collecting pollen. They then move from flower to flower, pollinating as they go. Hummingbirds have quite good memories and will remember food sources from previous years. So like many other animals they are simply traveling around looking for food and pollinating as they go.)

Daisies Orchids Poppies Many types of flowers are actually adapted for easy insect access as well. Open, bowl-shaped flowers generally have a ring of a lot of pollen in the middle of the flower (Poppies, Rose Shrubs, and Buttercups). They are 'open access' flowers used by all sorts of insects. Members of the Daisy family are important sources of forage for insects. They are especially used by honeybees, bumblebees and certain solitary bees to collect pollen on their bodies by running round the inside of the flower in a circle. Bumblebees sometimes also vibrate their wings in such flowers to dislodge pollen. A number of flowers of this type do not offer nectar, so they are not visited by butterflies or moths.For butterflies and moths there are a number of plant families with small round flowers each with a small tubular centre and those butterflies and moths push their long thin tongue into the centre of the flower to drink nectar. There are so many different types of pollinators besides the ones we have already mentioned! But there are so many that we can’t even say them all.