Partnerships for Propagation

When a bee alights on a flower, it enters into a symbiotic partnership with its host. The bee receives nectar and pollen while the flower gets a dusting of pollen from other blossoms of the same kind. This alliance enables flowering plants to reproduce. After being pollinated, flowers cease producing food. How do insects know that the “diner” is now closed? Flowers “tell” them in various ways. They might lose their scent, drop their petals, or change their orientation or color​—perhaps becoming duller. This may disappoint us, but it is an act of great “courtesy” to hardworking bees, who can now focus their efforts on plants that are still open for business.

In recent years the numbers of pollinators, especially bees, have been in steep decline in some areas. This is an ominous trend, for nearly 70 percent of flowering plants rely on insect pollinators. Furthermore, 30 percent of our food comes from bee-pollinated crops.

[Picture on page 7]

Bees enable flowering plants to reproduce