Introduction to Pollinators

Setting Up

• Trace flowers onto white paper; have enough for 1 per student
• Bend white pipe cleaners into insect shapes (recommended but optional); have enough for 1 per student
• Using double-sided tape, wrap one end of a white pipe cleaner (this will be the stigma for flowers); have enough for 1 per student

The Activity

• Introduce students to the concept of pollination. Start by asking if they know what the word means and how it happens. Then explain the process and see if you can get students to name some pollinators (ex: bees, birds, butterflies)
• To help students understand how pollination occurs, we first need to explain the parts of a flower. Using a diagram of a flower talk the students through the parts. The stamen being the male parts, the stigma the female parts, and a few other simple things (petals, stems, etc) that will help their understanding.
• Now that they know what a flower looks like and how it can be pollinated, have them make their own flowers.
  • Hand students white paper with flowers traced on them. Tell them to decorate their flowers. Remind them that they want the petals to stand out so that animals will come to them to be pollinated.
  • After decorating the flowers, have students cut them out.
  • Have students poke the taped white pipe cleaner through the center of their flowers (this will be the stigma). The taped side should be sticking up out of the flower.
• Now use a fun game to teach how pollination happens:
  • Have students place their flowers on the floor so that the stigma of the flower is sticking up into the air.
  • Sprinkle crushed colored chalk (powered Jell-O works well too) onto the center of each flower (careful not to get any on the stigma yet!). This will represent the pollen.
  • Hand each student a white pipe cleaner and tell them it is an animal/ insect (you can pre-shape these into insects to make it more engaging).
  • Now set a timer for a few minutes and have the students land their insects onto the flowers to collect nectar. And the goal of the game is to go to as many flowers as possible in a set time.
  • As students play the game, they should notice that their “insects” are getting covered in colored chalk and the stigmas of the flowers are too.
  • At the end of the game discuss with the students what happened:
    • Did their white piper cleaners get lots of color on them? Why? What does this mean for a real insect that is going from plant to plant to get nectar?
    • What happened with the stigmas of the flower? Why? What does this mean?
    • Why do you think this whole process is important?
    • What would happen if there were no more insects to pollinate?

Pollination is a necessary feature of the reproductive process, by which pollen grains from the stamen (male parts) are transferred to the stigma (female parts) on flowers. Fertilization then occurs, allowing the plants to make more offspring. Pollination can be achieved through wind, rain, or a host of animals. While wind and precipitation certainly play a large role in this process, animals are by far the most important way plants are pollinated. Many of these animals include birds, bats, and a host of insects such as beetles, bees, and butterflies.

Many animals have coevolved with plants due to their pollination abilities. In fact, some pollinators are so specific, that if the plant they pollinate dies, the pollinators often die off too. Bumblebees are a great example of this. Because plants depend on pollinators so much, they developed characteristics to ensure animals will be attracted to them. These include bright colors, the production of nectar, sweet smells, and even distinct petal shapes. Animals are attracted to these features, and when they visit plants, pollen gets on them. When the animals move around, they spread the pollen to other flowers.
Humans rely on animals to help pollinate many of the plants that we get foods from, such as apples, bananas, chocolate, sugarcane, and tree nuts.