Did you know that there are over 20,000 different kinds of
bees?
Bees are pollinators and live off the nectar from plants.
These insects are attracted to the bright colors and sweet smell of flowers and
vegetables. While pollinating, each bee will collect pollen from up to one
hundred flowers!
The concept of cross-pollination is something that can be easily
understood, by noticing how bees pollinate! When the bees land on the petals,
the plants pollen sticks to their bodies. The bees move from plant to plant
carrying the pollen. The pollen is transferred to the other plants and moves
down to the plants’ eggs. Once the pollen meets the eggs, a seed is formed.
This is called fertilization. These seeds will create new plants. When a bee
pollinates multiple flowers, they often carry a bit of pollen from each flower
along with them. This cross-pollination allows for new species of flowers to develop
and bloom!
Bees also collect nectar from each flower and put it in a
special sack, called a pollen basket, attached to its hind legs. In this sack,
the nectar reacts to special enzymes. This reaction begins the process of
turning the nectar into honey. The bees bring this sugary nectar back to their
hive and pass it to another worker bee. This bee continues the job by placing
the nectar in a beeswax comb. The bees produce this wax through secretions from
the nectar. The nectar sits in the beeswax comb and slowly forms into honey. Bees
know all about teamwork, as each one will create a fraction of a teaspoon in
their lifetime.
