Plants and Their Pollinators
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Plants and Their Pollinators: CREATING PERFECT PAIRINGS WHEN YOU GARDEN EVELYN PRESLEY, PRESENTER PRINCIPAL, SUSTAINABLE LANDSCAPING EAGLE ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT Topics To Be Discussed What is pollination? Why is pollination important? Who are our pollinators? A definition of Pollinator Syndrome The pollinators for discussion today What plants do each pollinator prefer? Planning How To Plant For Pollinators Image from: www.gardeningknowhow.com Container Gardening for Pollinators What Is Pollination? Pollination is the transfer of pollen grains from the anthers of one flower to the stigmas of the same or another flower. Why Is Pollination Important? Pollination makes it possible for the plant to reproduce. Flowers that are not pollinated do not produce fruits. Self-pollination can produce seeds and fruit. Not unlike human inbreeding, plant inbreeding can create negative traits, along with a tendency to be unable to evolve in the event that the plants’ environment changes. Cross-pollination refers to the movement of pollen between flowers from plant to plant; the resulting melding of genes creates a healthier plant community. Who Are Our Pollinators? Wind; this process is known as anemophily pollination Water; one form of this process is known as hydrophily pollination These two pollinators are abiotic pollinators. Organisms (humans and animals, including insects, both accidentally and intentionally). Entomophilous pollination is insect pollination. Zoophilous pollination is that performed by vertebrates; humans fall into this pollination category. These pollinators are biotic pollinators. Pollinator Syndrome By Definition/Benefits To Plants Plants and pollinators have co-evolved physical characteristics that make them more likely to interact successfully. The plants benefit from attracting a particular type of pollinator to its flower, ensuring that its pollen will be carried to another flower of the same species and hopefully resulting in successful reproduction. From: https://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/pollinators /What_is_Pollination/syndromes.shtm#traits Image from: coloradomountaingardener.blogspot.com Pollinator Syndrome By Definition/Benefits To Pollinators The pollinator benefits from its adaptation to a particular flower type by ensuring that it will be able to find and access important food resources – nectar and pollen. Such relationships are considered mutualistic. Image from: www.flickr.com From: https://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/pollinators/What_is_Pollination/syndromes.shtm#traits Pollinator Syndrome By Definition Animals, wind, and water can all be vectors for pollen. The flower type, shape, color, odor, nectar and structure vary by the type of pollinator that visits them. Such characteristics are considered pollination syndromes and can be used to predict the type of pollinator that will aid the flower in successful reproduction. Image from: www.sandiegoseedcompany.com From: https://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/pollinators/What_is_Pollination/syndromes.shtm#traits Pollinators For Discussion Today Bees Beetles Birds Butterflies Image from: www.granthaminstitute.com Bees What do Bees see? How do they pollinate? Bee enjoying Lantana spp. What flower shapes Image from: tonyparsley.wordpress.com do they prefer? Do Bees have a sense of smell? What Do Bees See? Like us, bees are trichromatic. Whereas we base our color combinations on red, blue, and green, bees base all their colors on UV, blue, and green. The colors bees see are blue-green, blue, violet, and ultraviolet, with research showing our purple followed by our violet then our blue as their favorites. If deprived of UV light, bees lose interest in foraging, and remain in the hive until forced out by severe food shortages. Just as color-blind people do not see red or green, and therefore experience the world of color differently, bees also perceive the world in colors entirely different from ours. Bees do not see red and have a hard time distinguishing it from surrounding green leaf backgrounds. From: https://beelore.com/2011/06/25/bees-dont-see-red/ Image from: www.youtube.com What Do Bees See?, cont’d. Bees not only see flowers in different colors than we do, bees also see ultra- violet light patterns, invisible to us, at the center that are a different color than the rest of the flower. From a bee’s-eye-view, the UV colors and patterns in a flower’s petals dramatically announce the flower’s stash of nectar and pollen. These UV patterns serve as a landing zone, guiding the bees to the nectar source. From: https://beelore.com/2011/06/25/bees-dont-see-red/ Image from: www.sciencenewsforstudents.org What Do Bees See?, cont’d. The flowers of plants pollinated by insects usually have patterns of yellow, blue, and ultraviolet that evoke a strong response in the insect eye. They usually have a darkly colored pattern near the center of the flower, called the nectar guide, which orients the insect toward the proper pollinating location. Bees show a strong preference for flowers with intricate shapes and colorations. Intricate radial patterns seem to be the most attractive; in fact, bees cannot be trained to prefer a simple to an intricate pattern. Some orchids take advantage of the sexual behavior of bees, the flowers being nearly perfect mimics of the female bees. A male bee attempting to copulate with the flower acquires the pollen capsules and transfers them to Bee pollinating an orchid another flower. Image from: www.youtube.com From: https://www.britannica.com/science/coloration-biology/Control-of-coloration#ref391362 As A Human Would See It Here is a picture of Arnica angustifolia ‘Vahl’. Photographs of Flowers Taken With Ultraviolet Filters (Depicts Landing Patterns) And here is a picture of the same flower as a bee might see it – with an ultraviolet “bullseye” pattern to attract the bee. The color of these UV flowers is dependent on the filter used by the photographer, and is representative of the color perceived by the bee. From: https://beelore.com/2011/06/25/bees-dont-see-red/ For more examples visit: http://www.naturfotograf.com/UV_TRIP_MAR.html Bees: How Cool Is That? Check out this bee with the hind-leg pollen baskets swollen with golden pollen grains. The bees use this pollen, along with gathered nectar, to feed their young. Pollen is a complete and nutritious food that contains carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins and minerals. Image from: www.earthrangers.com Information from: www.statebystategardening.com What Flower Shapes Do Bees Prefer? Shallow, with landing platform, and tubular Columbine, or Aquilegia spp. Image from: www.hunker.com Image from: http://statebystategardening.com/state.php/site/articles/the_importance_of_pollination How Do Bees Pollinate? When a bee collects nectar and pollen from the flower of a plant, some pollen from the stamens—the male reproductive organ of the flower—sticks to the hairs of her body. When she visits the next flower, some of this pollen is rubbed off onto the stigma, or tip of the pistil—the female reproductive organ of the flower. When this happens, fertilization is possible, and a fruit, Image from: dalantech.deviantart.com carrying seeds, can develop. From: https://bees.techno-science.ca/english/bees/pollination/default.php How Do Bees Pollinate? Buzz pollination, or sonication, is a technique used by some bees to release pollen from a flower by vibrating their wing muscles. The resonant vibration dislodges the pollen from the anthers. Bumble bees excel at buzz pollination. Information from: http://statebystategardening.com/state.php/site/articles/the_importance_of_pollination/ Image from: https://www.coolkidfacts.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/bumble.bee_.jpg More information on sonication: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4841848/ Bees Have A Sense Of Smell Bees prefer flowers that have a fresh, mild, pleasant fragrance They also enjoy scented pollen “Honey bees use their antennae to detect odor. According to research by the National Institutes of Health, published in the "Genome Research" journal, honey bees have 170 odor receptors, or chemoreceptors, in their antennae. This is high for an insect -- fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster) have 62 receptors and mosquitos (Anopheles gambiae) have 79. The honey bee’s sense of smell is so sensitive that it can detect the trace of a scent in flight. This ability equips the bee to effectively and efficiently locate pollen-rich flowers. Once the scent is detected on the antennae, the bee’s hyper-sensitive olfactory path processes the information, enabling the bee to determine the relevance of the scent to her search for pollen. As well as for finding food, honey bees use their sense of smell to locate other bees.” From: https://animals.mom.me/honey-bees-smell-feel-taste-11598.html Which Foods Depend On Bees? Many of the foods and crops we rely on Cantaloupe Horseradish Sunflowers need or, at the very least, benefit from bee Cauliflower Kale Sweet Potatoes pollination. Here’s a list of some of those Celery Lettuce Turnip crops: Cherries Mustard Watermelon Chestnuts Onions Alfalfa Chives Parsley Almonds Information from: https://bees.techno- Clover Peaches science.ca/english/bees/pollination/food- Apples Cranberries Pears depends-on-bees.php Asparagus Cucumber Plums Beans Currants Pumpkins Beets Eggplant Radishes Blackberries Flax Raspberries Blueberries Garlic Rhubarb Brussel Sprouts Gooseberries Squash Buckwheat Grapes Strawberries Cabbage Perennial Flowers That Attract Bees Anise Hyssop 'Blue Fortune' Agastache 'Blue Fortune', commonly known as Anise hyssop, has large, deep green foliage that sends up sturdy spikes covered with tiny, tubular, violet-blue flowers. This plant pairs well with the many daisy-like flowers on the list. It grows 1-3 feet tall and wide. It blooms from July through September. Name: Agastache x 'Blue Fortune' Growing conditions: Full sun to part shade Size: 1-3 feet tall and wide Zones: 5-9 From: https://www.bhg.com/gardening/design/nature-lovers/flowers-that-attract-bees/ Perennial Flowers That Attract Bees Arkansas Bluestar Named for the tiny, blue, star-shape blooms that form in masses, this plant was recognized a few years ago as the Perennial Plant of the Year.