How do flowers take advantage of bee anatomy to pollinate? (BioE 80 Spr2015)
May 27, 2015 • 2:32 AM UTC
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etre-pour-soi
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We began by asking the question: “How do flowers take advantage of bee anatomy to pollinate?” To find the answer, we first looked at the flower itself. We peeled off half of the petals to reveal the compartment where nectar and pollen are stored.
The nectar and pollen pollen are located beneath the petals in a space just large enough for a bee to fit. This would force the bee to come into contact with the pollen because of its size.
Afterwards, we removed the pollen from the flower to examine it more closely.
We noticed that the pollen has a round shape that appears to have a rough texture. This texture would allow the pollen to adhere to the bee.
Finally, we noticed pollen attached to the bee’s leg.
When looking at the bee’s leg more closely, we saw tiny hairs covering its sides. All of this information allowed us to form a more complete answer to our question. The location of the nectar and pollen in the plant cause the bee to squeeze into the chamber and have its legs make contact with the pollen The pollen’s texture uses the bee’s leg hairs by clinging to them better in order to be delivered to other flowers.
These observations are a fascinating example of mutual symbiosis, or organisms working for mutual benefit. Who knows in what other ways flowers and bees have adapted to each other? What other examples of mutual symbiosis exist in our backyards?
Contributor: Matthew Frankel
Contributor: Matthew Frankel
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