Partners in Pollination

InsideLesson PlanTake-HomePages inEnglish/Spanish

SubjectsScienceArtLanguage Arts

Grades4–9

Publication ofthis issue ofSmithsonian inYour Classroomis made possiblethrough the generous support of thePacific LifeFoundation.

November/December 1997

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PLANTS AND ANIMALS: Partners in Pollination

Smithsonian in Your Classroom’s purpose is to help you use the educational power of museums and other commu-nity resources. Smithsonian in Your Classroomdraws on the Institution’s hundreds of exhibitions and programs—from art, history, and science to aviation and folklife—to create classroom-ready materials for grades four throughnine. Each of the four annual issues explores a single topic through an interdisciplinary, multicultural approach.The Smithsonian invites teachers to duplicate materials from this publication for educational use.

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Contents

Background Essay Page 1

Lesson Plan Step 1 Page 4

Activity Page 1A Page 5

Activity Page 1B Page 6


Activity Page 2 Page 8


Activity Page 3A Page 10

Activity Page 3B Page 11

Take-Home Page Page 12

Resources Page 13

Most flowering plants (ninety percent) depend onanimals to make the vital pollen-grain delivery. Theremaining flowering plants rely on wind and some-times splashing raindrops to ferry pollen, but this is aless precise method. Pollinating animals do the job for a reward: food, usually in the form of nectar. This issueof Smithsonian in Your Classroomexplores the themeof the National Zoo’s Pollinarium exhibition: how plant and animal partners interact to accomplish pollination.

As in many processes innature, timing is impor-tant. The femalereproductive partof a flower is receptive to pollen only at certain times of the year. Creatures like insectsand birds, which move from flower toflower in search of food, are a fast and often guaranteed way for plants to distribute their pollen.

Both the male and the female reproductive parts of a plant are in the center of the flower. The male,pollen-producing part is called the anther, held aloft bya stalk called a filament. The entire male apparatus iscalled a stamen. Each pollen grain is unique to itsspecies. The female reproductive part of a plant, the stigma, sits on top of a style, or stalk, whichleads to an ovary at the base. The entire

PLANTS AND ANIMALS: Partners in Pollination

Ultimately, all life on Earth depends on plants to providefood, shelter, and oxygen for other living things. Consequently,plant reproduction is crucial to all other life on this planet. Thefirst step in plant reproduction is the intricate process called pollination, which occurs when pollen grains, the male germcell of a plant, reach the stigma, the female reproductive part of the same species of plant. Depending on the plantspecies, a flower can produce male, female, or bothstructures. Pollination can also occur withinthe same flower.

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The animal pollinators carry the pollen in differentways. Vertebrate pollinators like birds or bats carrypollen in their feathers or hair. Although invertebrateslike bees and butterflies lack hair, they have somethingjust as suitable for carrying pollen: bristles situated on their legs, head, and other body parts. Honeybeeshave tiny baskets on their legs for carrying pollen backto the hive. When butterflies use their long proboscis,or nectar-gathering appendage, to sip nectar from tubular flowers, they get peppered involuntarily withpollen on the proboscis or the head.

Plants use various techniques to attract their particular animal partners. Flowers are actually cleverlydesigned reproductive organs that incorporate all kindsof lures. The petals, for example, may serve as a land-ing platform for a visiting insect. When a bee lands onthe lower petal of a snapdragon, its weight causes a stamen to swing down and dust the bee withpollen. Petals of many plant species even have lines or other marks that guide the pollinator to the nectar.

Another type of lure is aroma. A flower’s scent must appeal to its pollinator. Many people appreciate the sweet smell of honeysuckle on a midsummer night. At that time, it’s at its strongest to draw the honeysuckle’s pollinators: nocturnal moths who “smell” with their feathery antennae. While most flowers have a sweet, pleasant fragrance, there are exceptions. One example is the Rafflesia flower, whose “rotten meat” aroma, which is offensive to most humans, is precisely what attracts its pollination partner: the fly.

female plant mechanism is called a pistil.

How does the process of plant pollinationby animals work? A pollinator (such as a bee,

bird, bat, or butterfly) in search of food visits aplant. The plant has secreted nectar, a concentrated

food source, from special glands and tucked it away inits blossom. While crawling around the blossom look-ing for nectar, the pollinator rubs against the pollen,which becomes attached to different parts of the polli-nator’s body. When the pollinator visits another blos-som, it transfers the pollen grains from its body onto astrategically placed stigma. After it reaches the stigma,the pollen grain grows a tiny pollen tube down the styleand into an egg-filled ovary. Eventually, the pollen andthe egg form a seed.

Scientists estimate that there are many thousands of animal pollination partners, ranging from inverte-brates (animals without backbones) such as bees, butterflies, wasps, flies, and beetles to vertebrates (animals with backbones) such as birds, bats, and othermammals. In North America, most of the pollinators areinsects like bees, butterflies and beetles, or vertebrateslike hummingbirds and bats. But elsewhere in the worldpollinators can be primates (like lemurs), Australianpossums, arboreal (tree-dwelling) rodents, or even reptiles like the gecko lizard.

2 Smithsonian in Your Classroom Plants and Animals: Partners in Pollination November/December 1997

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center (wherethe reproductivestructures are) is darker because it reflects UVlight.Bees are also attracted to blue and violet flowers.Flowers pollinated by animals who search for food atnight are often pale so they’ll be visible.

Through natural selection, a process in which livingthings become better adapted to their environments,some plants have evolved to match a particular animalpollinator. While this may be efficient because the pollinator will always visit the right species, it can alsobe dangerous for both partners should one or the otherbecome extinct.

On a worldwide scale, animals pollinate more thanthree-fourths of the staple crop plants that people eat.Scientists estimate that one out of every three bites offood we take is the result of a successful animal-plantpollination system. For instance, consider a hamburgeror hotdog with “the works”: ketchup, relish, mustard,and onions. Several different bee species pollinated theflowers of the plants that produce these condiments:tomatoes, cucumbers, mustard seed, and onions. Otherbees were responsible for the side dishes. For example,hardworking bees pollinated the potato plant that eventually became potato chips and French fries. Andfor dessert, an endless variety of ice cream flavors, suchas strawberry, chocolate, and vanilla, is also the resultof successful plant-animal partnerships. A world with-out pollinators, and thus without flowers, and so many types of food, would bea poor world indeed!

Smithsonian in Your Classroom Plants and Animals: Partners in Pollination November/December19973

Plant structures, too, are designed to attractspecific pollinating partners. The Queen Anne’s laceflower places its nectar right at the base of its tinyflowers where pollinators with a short proboscis(nectar-gathering appendage) such as honeybees,ants, wasps, flies, and beetles can reach it whenthey crawl on the flower. On the other hand, bumblebees, butterflies, and moths have long proboscises, which enable them to reach nectar inless accessible places. For example, the long shape and curve of the columbine flower complements thelong tongue of a bee, butterfly, or hummingbird. Byconcealing the nectar deep within its trumpet-like

blossoms, the columbine prevents animals who are not its pollination

partners from taking the nectar andtransferring any pollen.

Plants also use colors to attracttheir ideal animal pollinators.

Hummingbirds often, but notalways, are attracted to

red flowers. As it turnsout, red flowers are

typically loadedwith carbohydrate-rich nectar, which

provides almostinstant energy for

the fast-moving hummingbirds. Insect pollinators see color

differently than we do because they are sensitive to ultraviolet (UV) light. UVlight

makes the reproductive areas of some flowers standout. To human eyes a buttercup appears as a

uniform yellow, but to a bee’s eyes the flower’s

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Objectives■ Identify the plant partsinvolved in reproduction.■ Identify the animal(bee) structures involvedin pollination.■ Demonstrate howpollen moves from themale stamen to thefemale stigma.

Materials■ Copies of ActivityPages 1Aand B.■ A small dish or container filled with talcum powder. You can also use corn starch,flour, or different colors of chalk dust.■ Cotton swabs

Subjects■ Science, language arts

Procedure1. Give each student a

photocopy of ActivityPage 1A. Have themstudy the line drawing of the flower. Ask themto identify and writedown each plant partdescribed below.

• Female and sticky orfeathery to trap pollen(the stigma)

• Female and holds up the stigma (the style)

• Female and contains the egg-producing ovary(the pistil)

• Male and producespollen grains (the anther)2. Give each student a photocopy of ActivityPage 1B. Have themstudy the line drawing of the bee. Ask them to identify and writedown the bee structure or structures that do the following:

• collect nectar (proboscis)

• may carry pollen (bristles, legs and baskets, head)

3. Divide the studentsinto two groups: the pollinators (bees) and the plants. Give eachmember of the plantgroup a cotton swab and a small amount of“pollen” (talcum or othertype of powder) in a container or dish. Instructeach member of the pollinator group to visit a member of the plantgroup and dip a fingerinto the pollen. At thispoint, ask the class toname the part of the plant that the pollinatorstouched (the stamen,which consists of theanther and the filament)to get the pollen on theirfingers. Have them determine whether it is a male or female part.Ask the students whatparts of the pollinators’“bodies” (represented bytheir finger) touched thestamen that could carrythe pollen to the nextplant. Ask what theywere looking for whenthey got to the plant (nectar) and whatappendage they used toget it (proboscis bristles).

4. Have each memberof the plant group holdaloft a cotton swab.Explain that the pollina-tors have just visited oneplant and will now moveon to another plant of thesame species. Instruct the pollinators to visit adifferent member of theplant group and rub someof the pollen they are carrying onto that plant’sswab. Ask the studentswhat part of the flowerthe swab represents (stigma) and whether it is a male or female part(female).

5. Have each groupmeet separately to discuss its specific role as a pollination partnerand how it benefittedfrom the pollinationprocess. Have each groupselect a spokespersonwho will take notes andreport the findings to the class.


LESSON PLAN Step 1How Does Pollination Work?

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Name each part of the flower described below.

1. Female and sticky or feathery to trap pollen:

2. Female and holds up the stigma:

ACTIVITY PAGE 1AFlower Anatomy

3. Female and contains the egg-producing ovary:

4. Male and produces pollen:

stamenfilament

stigma

style

ovary

pistil

anther

Name the part or parts of the bee that do the following:

1. Collect nectar:

2. Carry pollen:


ACTIVITY PAGE 1BBee Anatomy

legpollen basket (right corbiculum)

leg proboscis(tongue)

head

abdominalspiracle

thoraxabdomen

Smithsonian in Your Classroom Plants and Animals: Partners in Pollination November/December1997 7

Objectives■ Interpret the linksbetween pollination andfood production.

Materials■ Copies of ActivityPage 2.■ Pens or pencils.

Subject■ Science

Procedure1. Explain to your

class that most of thefoods we eat (one out ofevery three bites) are theresult of a pollinationpartnership. Add that different species of beespollinate many of theplants that make up ourfood supply. Ask yourstudents whether theylike bees. Naysayers willundoubtedly mention thatbees sting or that they areallergic to bees. Tell yourstudents that they aregoing to explore a worldwithout bees and, in particular, what the foodsupply would be like ifbees no longer existed.

2. Direct your studentsto Activity Page 2. Askstudents to imagine aworld without bee-polli-nated plants: the “Bee-Free Zone.” Explain thatthey are going to attend abarbecue in the Bee-FreeZone and that hamburg-ers are on the menu.Have the students readthe list of bee-pollinatedplants that appears at thetop of the page.

3. Tell your studentsthat they have chosen ahamburger or hot dogfrom the grill.Explain thatthey can nowchoose whatthey willhave withtheir ham-burger orhot dog.Remindthem thatthis is thebee-free bar-becue and that the foodslisted under “PlantsPollinated by Bees”won’t be available.These include tomatoes,onions, cucumbers, lettuce, potatoes,oranges, lemons, limes,mustard seed, cacaobean used in makingchocolate, vanilla, sugar,

almonds, watermelon,and apples.

4. Have your studentsselect the items on thechecklist that they couldnot have at the bee-freebarbecue. After they’veeliminated the bee-polli-nated items from the list,have them describe themeal that wouldremain.

5. Conclude the lesson byasking

your class to decidewhether the availabilityof bee-pollinated fooditems is worth the risk ofgetting stung by a bee intheir lifetimes.

LESSON PLAN Step 2Understanding How Pollination Affects the World’s Food Supply

lettuce, oil for frying potatoes, oranges, lemons, limes, mustard seed, cacao bean used in making chocolate, vanilla,

Some of the more common products from animal-pollinated plants include tomatoes, onions,cucumbers, lettuce, potatoes, oranges, lemons, limes,mustard seed, cacao bean (used in making chocolate),vanilla, sugar, almonds, watermelon, and apples.

Welcome to the Bee-Free Barbecue!

If all the animal pollinators were to become extinct,which of the foods listed below could you not have with your hamburger or hot dog?

Describe the rather dull meal you would have left.


ACTIVITY PAGE 2Bee-Free Barbecue

■ mustard■ lemonade■ ketchup■ potato chips■ pickles■ strawberry milkshake■ cheese

■ mayonnaise■ french fries■ onions■ hot fudge sundae■ tomatoes■ apple pie■ watermelon

cucumbers, lettuce, oil for frying potatoes, oranges,lemons, limes, mustard seed, cacao bean (used in making chocolate), vanilla, almonds, watermelon, and apples

Objectives■ Describe the comple-mentary relationshipsbetween pollinators andthe plants they pollinate.■ Identify adaptationsthat flowers have devel-oped to “encourage” pollination.

Materials■ Copies of ActivityPages 3Aand B and the Take-Home Page.■ Pens, pencils, crayons.

Subjects■ Science, language arts,art

Procedure1. Begin the lesson by

explaining that over timeflowers have developedadaptations to ensure thatthe best pollinator (onethat will carry pollenonto another flower ofthe same species) willreturn again and again.Pollinators such as hum-

mingbirds and honey-bees have also adapt-ed to ensure that theywill have a plentifulfood supply.

2. Give each student acopy of Activity Page3A. Explain that you’retrying to determine whichanimal would make thebest pollinator for thetrumpet flower. Haveyour students study thepictures while you provide the followingbackground:

• The trumpet flower isred in color, has anupside-down “tube”shape, has no “landing”spot, and has little fragrance.

• Hummingbirds havea poorly developed senseof smell; are attracted tothe colors red, pink,orange, and yellow;“hover” at, rather thanland on, their flowers;and have a long bill andtongue.

• Honeybees have ashort proboscis, cannotsee red, must land andcrawl, and are attracted tosweet fragrances.3. Have your studentsanswer the questions onActivity Page 3A. (Is thehoneybee or the hum-mingbird more likely to

access the nectar? Isthe shape of thisparticular flowermore appropriate

for a honeybee or a

hummingbird? Whichpollinator would be moreattracted to the flower’scolor? Would a honeybeebe lured by the trumpetflower’s scent? Is there a place for a honeybee to land? Which animalwould make the best pollinator for the trumpetflower?)

4. Give each student acopy of Activity Page 3B.Remind them that flow-ers are designed to attractpollinators with specifictastes and attributes.Have your studentsanswer the followingquestions on ActivityPage 3B:

What is your favorite color?

What is your favorite shape?

What smells good to you?

What is your favorite snack?

5. Have your studentspair off. Instruct them tostate their preferences,which they’ve listed onActivity Page 3B. Thenhave each of them drawsimultaneously their

partner’s “designerflower.” For fun, havethem make it as unreal aspossible. For example,one might design aflower that is black, triangular in shape,smells like fresh-bakedbrownies, and providespizza as a reward. Haveeach pair present their“designer flowers” to theclass. As an extension,have the artist be theflower, designing “adap-tations” suited to his orher partner’s preferences.

6. Direct your studentsto the Take-Home Page.Tell them to think up anddraw a fictional pollina-tor-plant pair. (Forexample, a flower thatsmells like Swiss cheesewould likely attract arodent pollinator.)Remind students that thegoal is to get the animalto pick up the pollen andcarry it to another plantof the same species. Havethem list the attributes ofthe plant that attract thepollinator and the mecha-nism or mechanisms bywhich the pollinator carries the pollen to thenext plant.

LESSON PLAN Step 3How a Plant Attracts the Right Pollinator


1. In the trumpet flower, the nectar islocated at the bottom of the long,curved blossom. Which animal(s) aremore likely to get nectar from the trumpet flower? Why?

2. Would the flower’s color attract the honeybee? Why or why not?

3. Would theflower’s lack of a scentturn away a hummingbird? Why or why not?

4. Does the trumpet flower have a place where a pollinator can land andcrawl around?

5. Based on your observations, whichanimal do you think would make thebest pollinator for the trumpet flower?


ACTIVITY PAGE 3ALooking at Adaptive Structures

1. Fill out your preferences below and give them to your partner.

What is your favorite color?What is your favorite shape?What smells good to you?What is your favorite snack?

2. Now imagine that you are a flower adapting to your partner’s preferences. In the box above, create a “designer” flower to suit your partner’s preferences. In thelines below, describe why the flower you designed would appeal to your partner.


ACTIVITY PAGE 3BDesign Your Own Flower

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TAKE-HOME PAGETRABAJO PARA HACER EN LA CASA

Publication of Sm

ithsonian in Your Classroom

is made possible through the generous support of the P

acific Life Foundation.

Esta publicación ha sido posible gracias al generoso aporte de la P

acific Life Foundation.

PollinatorPolinizador

Draw a real or made-up“pollinator” in the box above. Label your pollinator’s pollen-carrying structures.

Dibuja un polinizador real o imaginario. Nombra laspartes del cuerpo que tu polinizador usa para dispersar el polen.

FlowerFlor

Now try to draw a real ormade-up flower that wouldattract your “pollinator.”Label the features of yourflower that attracted your pollinator. Label the featuresof your flower that trans-ferred its pollen grains to your pollinator’s body.

Dibuja una flor real o imaginaria que atraería a tu “polinizador.” Nombra las characterísticas de tu flor que atrayeron a tupolinizador. También nombralas partes de tu flor que transfirieron los granos de polen a tu polinizador.

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BOOKS AND TEACHING GUIDES

Brackenbury, John.Insects and Flowers: ABiological Partnership.Dorset, England:Blandford Press, 1995.

Cole, Joanna. The MagicSchool Bus Plants Seeds:A Book About HowLiving Things Grow. NewYork: Scholastic, 1995.

Johnson, Sylvia A. Roses Red, Violets Blue:Why Flowers HaveColors. Minneapolis,Minn.: LernerPublications, 1992.

Proctor, Michael, PeterYeo, and Andrew Lack.The Natural History ofPollination. Portland,Ore.: Amadeus Press, 1996.

ELECTRONICRESOURCES

Many government andeducational organizationssponsor sites on theWorld Wide Web pertain-ing to pollination. All ofthe sites listed belowdescribe the process of

pollination and provideinformation on plant-animal interactions aswell as adaptations.

The U.S. Department ofAgriculture’s GlobalEntomology AgricultureResearch Server(GEARS) is an award-winning site dedicated to promoting the latestentomological researchfindings. The site’sInternet Classroom section at http://gears/tucson.ars.ag.govprovides a number of excellent links toinformation on pollina-tion and related topics.

What Is Pollination? ASticky Question, a polli-nation unit developed bythe Missouri BotanicalGarden, offers online lesson plans, definitions,activities, and “virtualbiomes” for use in theclassroom. You canaccess this site throughMBGnet (http://www .mobot.org/MBGnet),which is produced andmaintained by theEvergreen Project, Inc.

A Passion for Butterflieshttp://www.si.edu/organiza/museums/zoo/zooview/animals/butterfl.htm

Pollination and Benefitsof Insects http://www.ento.vt.edu/Courses/Undergraduate/IHS/ENT2004/Pollen.htm

Pollination: The Art and Science of FloralSexualityhttp://www.fonz.org/pollinat.htm

The Structure of a Flowerand Pollination http://www.biohaven.com/biology/flower.htm

Pollination Adaptationshttp://koning.ecsu.ctstateu.edu/Plants_Human/pollenadapt.html

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Judy ManningFriends of the National Zoo

Tamsen M. GrayDepartment ofInvertebratesNational Zoo

SMITHSONIAN IN YOUR CLASSROOM

Smithsonian in YourClassroomis a publica-tion of the SmithsonianOffice of Education,Smithsonian Institution,Washington, DC 20560.

WriterLydia Paddock

EditorsDouglas CaseyJennifer Jackson

TranslatorSarita Rodriguez

Designer/IllustratorKarlic Design Associates, LLC

Baltimore, Maryland

Publications DirectorMichelle Knovic Smith

SMITHSONIAN IN YOURCLASSROOM ONLINE

This publication is alsoavailable electronicallyover the World Wide Webat http://educate.si.edu.Look for more informa-tion on Smithsonian electronic educationalservices and publicationsin future issues ofSmithsonian in YourClassroom.

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Partners in Pollination