POLLEN, POLLINATION & POLLINATORS

PLANT SEX!

MORE PLANT SEX!! Are they at it again?

?????????????????????????????????

WHAT IS POLLEN ANYWAY?

FLOWER SPERM!!

OR THAT FLOWER / TREE ‘DUST’ THAT

MAKES YOU SNEEZE!!

FLOWER PARTS

REVIEW FLOWER PARTS:

• OVARY – where seeds are made • Stigma – female part of flower • Anthers – male flower parts • Style – tube that leads to the ovary, female part • Pollen – small particles on the anthers that are needed to

make seeds • Fertilization – pollen enters the ovary to make seeds.

SPLAIN THEM FLOWER PARTS AGAIN! STAMEN (Male) PISTOL (female)

1. Male reproductive organ 1. Female reproductive part of flower

2. Consists of 2 parts (anther & filament) 2. Consists of 3 parts (ovary, style, stigma)

3. Produces pollen grains 3. Bears number of ovules in the ovary

4. Pollen grains germinate to produce male gametes (Gamete – mature cell, ready to mate male / female)

4. Ovules possess the sac like structure – embryo sac. The sac possess the egg which represents the female gamete.

5. During pollination the pollen grains from the stamen are dispersed.

5. During pollination the pollen grains, after dispersal, reaches the stigma where germination of the pollen grains occurs.

???? Flowers & Pollen ????

POLLEN

POLLEN IS A powdery substance, typically yellow, produced in the anthers (male) of seed bearing plants consisting of microscopic grains containing the male gametes (sperm cells). Each grain contains a male gamete that can fertilize a female ovule. Pollen is transported via insects, wind, other animals, etc.

MORE ABOUT POLLEN

Study of pollen is called - Palynology

TWO TYPES OF POLLEN • Entomophiles – pollen collected by insects (etc.)

• Anemophilous – carried by wind

OH COME ON! More about POLLEN

Scientists study pollen: • Paleoecology – study of extinct life. Ecology and data from fossils of

plants & animals. Fossilized pollen • Archaeology– study of human activity through the recovery and

analysis of material from a culture. • Forensics – application of scientific information to criminal and civil

law. Collection, preservation, and analysis of evidence.

POLLEN ALLERGIES

ALLERGIES

An allergic reaction: is what happens when your immune system reacts to something that is usually harmless. Allergan: the trigger. Can be pollen, mold, dander, etc.

SOUND FAMILIAR?

Itchy eyes Sneezing

Itchy, runny nose Tickle in your throat

Rash Hives Tired

POLLEN COUNT

INDEX OF AMOUNT OF POLLEN IN THE AIR www.pollen.com

INTERESTING!

According to the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology 54% of Americans

suffer from some sort of allergy! Double the amount since 1980!

Cost to healthcare system: $18,000,000 per year.

IT Is eVerwHere!

EVERYWHERE

THERE IS NO ESCAPE

WHY SO MANY SUFFER?

? Better at diagnosing an allergic reaction ? ? Increase in amount of CO2 in the air ?

? Our obsession with cleanliness – has it increased our lack of exposure to microorganisms and parasites throwing our immune systems in to ‘overdrive’ ?

? Local ecology issues ?

NECTAR

NECTAR – Flavor for the gods

Nectar is a sugary liquid formed by glands in a flower called nectaries, which are located at the base of flower petals in the carpel. Nectar contains: sucrose, fructose, glucose, protein, amino acids, vitamins, minerals, flavonoids, organic acids, lipids, antioxidants, alkaloids and oils. Amount varies per plant.

WHERE’S THE NECTAR?

COME ON OVER FOR A DRINK

Pedals of the flower attract the insect with the promise of nectar to be found inside the flower carpel.

POLLINATION

Is: ?

POLLINATION

POLLINATION

SIMPLE HUH? OR: CLEAR AS:

In Understandable Terms?

POLLINATION IS: Process in which pollen is transferred from the anther to the stigma (sex organs of seed plants). Thereby, enabling fertilization and reproduction through growth of the pollen tube and eventual release of sperm.

Bees pollinate by smell, butterflies by sight.

SIMPLER YET

The bee (etc.) gets covered in pollen, from the male part of the plant, and deposits the pollen rains on the female parts of the next flower it visits. Once the pollen is on the female part it moves to the ovary where it fertilizes and forms a seed.

A LITTLE MORE SIMPLY PUT

Meet THE Big Pollinator

EVEN MORE ABOUT POLLEN: TERMS

• SELF POLLINATION = when plants stamen (male) sheds pollen directly into its own stigma (female).

• CROSS POLLENATION = when pollen (boy stuff) travels to the

pistil (girl stuff) of another plant via wind or when pollen sticks to an insect. Then, insect travels to another flower pollen is left behind – RESULT = fertilization!

ABoUT Pollen / PollInATIon

CROSS POLLINATION vs. SELF POLLINATION

CROSS POLLINATION SELF POLLINATION

Insects: apples, grapes. Plums. Pears, raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, pumpkins, daffodils, lavender Wind: grasses, maple trees, dandelions.

Orchids, peas, sunflowers, wheat, oats, rice, barley, tomatoes, potatoes, apricots, peaches

Transfer: wind, insects, water, animals, etc. Shed pollen directly into stigma

Plant differences: Brightly colored pedals, nectar and scent, long stamens & pistols

Smaller flowers

Results: More variety and diversity. Relies on pollinators that travel from plant to plant

Uniform. Less resistant to disease. Does not expand energy to attract pollinators

Number of pollen grains: Large number Small number

PLANTS THAT SELF POLLINATE

Most plants use cross pollination. Those that use insects tend to have brightly colored flowers.

Those who are wind pollinated have long stamens and pistols with small or no petals.

Self pollination: Smaller flowers Some cross pollinating flowers can self pollinate if cross

pollination is not successful….peas & sunflowers

IMPORTANCE OF POLLINATION

35% of our food around the globe is highly dependent on animals for pollination.

YIKESYIKES!!!!!!

FooD & PollInATIon

POLLINATION

PollInATIon

PLANT FOR THE BEES

FOR THE BEES

MEET MORE POLLINATORS

BEES THE HARDEST WORKING CREATURE ON EARTH.

25,000 species world wide 4,000 in United States

400 in Ohio Separated into just nine families

Apidea family contains those bees we are most familiar with, The honeybee, bumblebee, and carpenter bee.

BEES

“To a bee, a flower is the fountain of life, and to the flower, the bee is the messenger of love”.

Poet – Kahili Gabram

BEES - $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ - BEES

More than 400 crops rely on bees for pollination.

Annual global crop pollination by bees is estimated to be worth $170,000,000,000

BEES Beyond monetary value for maintaining our fragile food

supply, bees make an invaluable contribution to ecosystems around the world.

Seeds, fruits, and berries eaten by birds and small mammals are all from plants that are bee pollinated.

BEES = guardian of the food chain and the biodiversity of our

species.

BEES

Bees are industrious pollinators because they have co-evolved with flowering plants over millions of years. Bees need flowers for food, the flower needs the bee to reproduce. Unlike other insects, nectar and pollen from flowering plants are bees’ only source of food source; the sweet nectar drink gives adult bees energy. Pollen is protein rich baby food.

CIRCLE OF LIFE

Think of an apple tree: it blossoms, is visited by bees, produces apples later in the summer containing seeds, which if planted slowly grows into a new apple tree.

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Albert Einstein is attributed to have said: “If the bee disappeared off the face off the globe then man would only have four years left to live”.

BEE HISTORY

Cave drawings dating back 20,000 years depict images of honey hunting. The ancient Egyptians transported their hives along the Nile to pollinate crops and buried their pharaohs with containers of honey, to sweeten the afterlife.

MEET THE BEES FIRST: HONEYBEES

HONEY BEES

Are not native to the United States. The came from Europe with the settlers.

HONEY BEE LIFE CYCLE

Egg, Larvae, Pupa, Adult Eggs hatch in 3 days into workers.

Larvae feed over 1000 times a day, feed by ‘brood nurses’, food made by pollen, honey, and bee secretions (bee bread).

In 6 days egg cells are capped and each larvae spins itself a cocoon, becoming a pupa.

In 10 days workers emerge (females), drones emerge in 12 days A QUEEN emerges

(she has been fed ‘royal jelly’ (much richer) emerges in 6 days.

HONEYBEE SIZE

THE QUEEN BEE

• IS larger, with a pointed abdomen • Lays 1500 eggs a day – lives 3-4 years

• Has thousands of sex partners • Stores up to 6,000,000 sperm cells

• Controls the workers behaviors with pheromones, but in the reduction or loss of that pheromone the workers decide a new

queen is needed. • Pheromones also determine when a new hive is needed – the

queen and ½ of the hive will swarm, looking for a new home.

THE WORKERS – the girls

• GIRLS RULE! • Make all of the decisions about the hive.

• Changes tasks as she ages • Clean the cells • Cap the cells

• Tend the brood and the QUEEN • Are neat freaks, clean the hive

• Pack the pollen • Build the comb

A GAL’S WORK IS NEVER DONE!

• She ventilates the hive (flaps her wings) • She guards the hive

• She may fly up to 8 miles to find pollen & nectar • Only lives about 5 weeks

• Works herself to death – lives 6-7 weeks • When death is near she will fly away from the hive to die

alone

THE DRONES – the boys

• Spend their lives drinking nectar and mating • Do little to maintain the hive

• Live up to four months - BUT-

• Are only reared when it suits the queen • Not all even get to mate – rarely get to mate with a virgin queen

• Die just after mating • At end of summer get kicked out of the colony – so not to deplete

resources of the hive.

MORE ON HONEY BEES A colony consists of 20- 60,000 or more bees.

The colony over winters, common in US to lose up to 40% of a hive per year.

Honeybees cluster in the hive and keep the hive at a constant temperature during the winter.

HONEY BEE – THE POLLINATOR

It is said that the honeybee are our most important pollinator, while that may be true, it really depends on

the crop being pollinated. There are “hive” farmers who transport honeybee hives

on flatbed trucks all over the country for pollination. The almond crop in California is almost all pollinated by bees that have been trucked in. Yes, they return to the

hive, and are then driven to another location.

CAlIFornIA AlMonD FArM

HONEY BEES

• Are social, most bees are solitary. • Have their own ‘health care system’ and it WORKS!

• Have pollen baskets on their legs. • Are very ‘hairy’, even their eyes!

• When they swarm, they are looking for a new home. • Few ‘native’ hives remain in United States.

HONEY BEE PROBLEMS

• Several diseases that have affected hive health. Most prominent now is the parasitic varroa mite, that literally suck the blood from the bee

• Pesticides and Herbicides. • ?? GMO’s ??? Lots of research, showing different conclusions.

• Decline of large patches of wild flowers. • Decline of fence rows.

• Hybridizing of so many plants = pollen free plants!! • Bee Keepers

BUMBle Bees

Good Pollinators Are also social bees

Only the (mated) QUEEN will winter over. Make an annual nest in the ground or old wood.

QUEEN is seen early in the spring gathering pollen and nectar.

Only legumes can be pollinated by bumble bees.

MORE BEES – MINOR POLLINATORS

CARPENTER BEES

Produce only one brood a year. Fairly solitary

Males fight each other to get females Females are black, males are black with white spots.

Males are more aggressive, but only females can sting. Hibernate through winter, females make the nest, males do not live

long enough to need a nest. Like unpainted softwood, bite the wood, end up with a circular hole

that is actually more of an “L: shape.

MASON BEES

Very effective pollinators, especially in orchards. 3 mason bees can pollinate an apple tree. Difficult to ‘hive’ because the are roamers.

Lifespan is about 5 weeks.

SWEAT BEES

Attracted to the salt in human perspiration. Are ground nesters.

Are small, usually metallic green or black

LEAF CUTTER BEES

DO NOT HURT THE PLANT! You might think you have a chewing insect on your plant – but no, just

a little leafcutter. Looks like someone took a hole puncher to your flower leaves.

Love rose leaves!

CUCKOO BEE

• Are not fuzzy or hairy, more wasp like in appearance. • Decent pollinators, do not collect pollen, it sticks to their bodies.

• Are kleptoparasite • Are called cuckoo bees because like the cuckoo bird lays its eggs in

other burrows or nests of other birds.

MINER BEES / WOOL CARTER BEE

MINER BEES Also know as digger bees Dig tunnels in sandy soil.

Are not aggressive. WOOL CARTER BEES

Scrape the ‘wool’ off leaves like the Lambs Ears plant and use it in lining their nests.

Seem to dart or hover around plants Look more like a wasp.

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BEES & WASPS

• WASPS were here first, BEES are thought to have descended from wasps.

• WASPS are carnivores. • WASPS are not hairy. • WASPS are aggressive. • Wings down when flying. • Wasps eat human food.

BEE STINGS

• Know what to do IF you are allergic!

• Honey bees do not want to sting. If the sting they die a horrible death!

• Bee keepers seldom get stung. • Bumblebees can sting over and over.

• Teach children not to fear bees. • Don’t ‘swat’ at a bee who is buzzing near you.

OUCH!

PLANT FOR FRAGRANCE / PLANT FOR BEES

BUTTERFLIES

BUTTERFLIES are diurnal, meaning they visit a wide variety of flowers during the day.

Sense some smell, but like big, beautiful, bright blooms and choose flowers by sight.

Have good color vision, sense more wave lengths than humans.

Unlike bees butterflies can see red.

Check out more Butterfly info:

• xercesociety.org • thebutterflywebsite.com • butterfliesandmoths.org

• Any University Extension website

HUMMINGBIRDS

• Their brain is 4.2% of their body weight, largest in the bird kingdom. • They are smart, can remember flowers.

• Hear & see better than humans. • See ultraviolent light.

• Heat beats 250 times a minute at rest! • Metabolism 100 times that of an elephant.

• Only have 3 kinds in OHIO, 2 are not seen often – the ruby throated hummingbird quite common.

• Attracted to red flowers no need to put out ‘red dyed sugar water.

PLANT TO ATTRACT POLLINATORS

MORE ON ATTRACTING POLLINATORS

REASONS WHY

• Maximize the yield of your fruits and vegetables, • Boost the over all health of your yard,

• Delight in watching the pollinators at work, • Satisfaction in knowing you are doing your part to help.

WHAT TO DO

• Landscape with plants that pollinators like. • Plant a rainbow of colors. • Plant a variety of shapes.

• Plant to feed for all seasons. • Plant in clumps. • Plant in the sun.

• Allow plants to bolt – flower, seed ,& die back (especially herbs) • Avoid pesticides & herbicides as much as possible.

MORE ON WHAT TO DO • Provide a water source

• Mow less • Provide nesting places, a place to rear their young –

shelter • Plant flowers near fruits and vegetables.

• Have small patches of bare ground. • Have large rocks – butterflies to dry their wings.

More PollInATors HelP

5 THINGS: GO NATIVE!

DRASTICALLY REDUCE PESTICIDES & HERBICIDES. Leave things a little messy in your yard. Plant for hosts & plant for ALL seasons.

TEACH our children & grandchildren.

Bees: prefer single - pedaled flowers. Butterflies: prefer lowers in sun and very little wind

Hummingbirds: Tubular blossoms

Don’t forget about “host” plants for egg laying.

BUTTERFLIES BEES HUMMINGBIRDS Chives Basil Pineapple Sage

Marjoram Lemon Balm Mallow Catmint Lavender Rosemary

Mint Anise hyssop Comfery Yarrow Hyssop Lavender Parsley Borage Bee Balm

Dill Germander Hyssop Sage Mint

Bee Balm Chamomile Rosemary Thyme Clover Dill Dandelion

HERBS THAT ATTRACT BENIFICIAL INSECTS

• Yarrow Basil • Cilantro Calendula • Dill Lemon Balm • Fennel Anise Hyssop

Please refer to: Ohio State Fact sheet: ENT 47-14 Ohio State: Quick guide for pollinators US Fish and Wildlife Service: Pollinators University of Maine: Bulletin # 7150

PERENNIAL FOR SUCCESSIOIN BLOOM BY MONTH

For Zone 5

Early Spring: – Feb – March

Lenten Rose –Hellebores, crocus, daffodils, grape hyacinth, forsythia, of course dandelions

Later Spring: April – May

Bleeding Heart, Ranunculus, Candy Tuft, Dianthus, Columbine, Cora Bells, Globeflower, Iris, Lady’s Mantle, Lungwort, Peony, and Poppy

Summer: July – August

Japanese Anemone, Stokes Aster, Astilbe, Baby’s Breath, Balloon Flower, Butterfly Weed, Cardinal Flower, Black eyed Susan, Shasta Daisy, Daylily, Cora bells, Coreopsis, Goldenrod, Lupine, Garden Phlox, Perennial Sunflower, Yarrow, and Coneflowers

Fall: September

Hardy Ageratum, Japanese Anemone, Aster, Mums, Cora bells, Mallow and Sedum

RESEARCH! ATTEND

CLASSES & SYMPOSIUMS!