Pollen and Nectar Carriers

A bumblebee carries pollen in it's corbiculae.

       Have you ever pulled apart a clover head and then placed one of the tiny flowerettes in your mouth? If so, you learned that deep down in the throat, of the clover blossom was something that tasted very fresh and sweet.

       That sweet substance in flowers is known as nectar. It is the material from which bees make honey. Also, it is the pay the insects and other plant visitors receive for carrying pollen from a flower of one kind to another of the same kind. This nectar is kept in little pockets. Sometimes, it is easily seen, but usually the insects must work hard to obtain it. In so doing, their heads, backs or legs are apt to touch some stalks which have bags of pollen at the top. Bumblebees have such sharp mandibles that they frequently cut through the walls of the nectar pockets instead of going into the flowers, and thus get no pollen. Without pollen no seeds are produced.

       Pollen is that yellow powder which clings to the tip of your nose if you plunge it too far into tulips or dandelions. It is one of the most important parts of a flower and to secure pollen plants do some odd things.

       Some have separate pollen flowers up above the seed flowers. Corn belongs to this kind of plant. Some plants swing their pollen stalks out so that the wind can carry the pollen. Grasses do this. Most plants have insect or spider friends which visit their blossoms.

       To have the right kind of visitor, plants resort to various schemes. They may have brilliantly-colored petals which flaunt their brightness as long as any pollen remains; spots and lines may show the way to the nectar feasts; special odors may be just the right invitations to flies and beetles, and some flowers are ogres which hold their guests in traps for a time.

       On dry, exposed spots of the dunes, we often see (and feel) a kind of cactus called "Prickly Pear."' When the sun is shining brightly the golden petals open wide and the bees, being fond of yellow, come to call. As evening comes on or a storm approaches, the petals fold up. The bees must then force a way through a small opening at the top. As this cactus has no nectar, it uses this method of getting pollen from another flower. In the scramble to gain its freedom, the bee imprisoned within the folded flower loses some of the pollen collected in some other flower and picks up grains from the cactus being visited. This is exactly what the cactus wants to happen. In time, the pollen brought finds its way into the seed-house.

       In grandmother's garden there is apt to grow a figwort. If you look carefully at a blossom of this plant, you will discover clinging tightly to the center of the flower a wasp. He is so much like the yellow and brown of the flower that he appears to be part of the bloom itself. Figworts compel the wasps to push their heads down into the tube in order to secure the nectar. Thus they are sure to touch the pollen.

       Many flowers have deep, throat-like tubes or spurs. Then butterflies and moths are the flower friends. The hawk-moths are especially fitted for obtaining nectar from such blossoms as petunias and gentians, as their tongues are very long and hollow and curl up like watch springs when not in use.

       The trumpet creeper has several interesting nectar guests. Tiny insects, thirsting for the sweetness deep in the throat, crawl within. The hummingbird also likes nectar, but it likes insects equally well. Hence its trips to the trumpet creeper have a double purpose. With its dainty, needle-like bill it drains the nectar and picks up the insects.

       Orchids are rare and weird flowers. The colors are delicate and the shapes unusual. Most orchids have pouches like our lady-slippers, or one petal enlarged to form a hood and another to form a landing platform. The pollen sacs do not loosen and let the pollen out as in other flowers. As a visiting insect passes in to gather nectar, it presses against the pollen container. A tiny bit of plant skin with a sticky substance is fastened to this container. When this touches the insect's head or proboscis or leg it separates from the stem and sticks to the insect. The sticky substance hardens as the air strikes it. Thus the insect just has to carry the pollen to the next orchid it visits.

       As bees, wasps, flies, butterflies and moths have their favorites among the members of the plant family, and each likes some colors and dislikes others, there is plenty of nectar and pollen for all. Thus certain insects and certain flowers have formed a kind of partnership by which the blossom gets the pollen from another flower and the visitor receives the nectar. Cornell

Kid Video About Pollination:

• Pollination for Kids
• How Do Bees Make Honey?
• Butterflies and Pollinators

Enhance The Lesson With Pollinator Crafts:

• Craft Doily Butterflies
• Make Your Own Bee Hotel
• Bees, Crafts, Activities, Lessons, Games and Printables