A project of :
The State
Botanical Garden
of Georgia,
The GA Museum
of Natural History
and Georgia 4-H
POLLINATION
MODULE REVEIW
Funded by the Teacher Quality Program
POLLINATION MODULE REVIEW
Overview: In this module, learners work as
naturalists, displaying curiosity as they investigate
pollinators as well as host and nectar plants on their
Club site. Activities include a flower dissection,
pollinator count, a cross pollination game, butterfly
investigation stations and more. A GEN take-home
pamphlet allows learners to extend their knowledge
by looking for pollinators near their home and share
their knowledge about pollination with other family
members. An optional stewardship/service learning
project involves learners growing and planting host
and nectar plants on their school site to feed and
attract more pollinators to their site.
POLLINATION MODULE
Enduring Understandings:
Learners will understand that…
* Pollinators, including bees, butterflies, flies, wasps,
beetles are necessary for traits to be transferred from one
plant to another.
*Pollination is a vital life support function that sustains life
in all ecosystems.
Essential Questions:
Why is pollination important to my daily existence on
earth?
Who pollinates flowers in my local environment?
How can I help pollinators that live on my school site or in
my local environment?
POLLINATION MODULE
Major Concepts:
1. Plants require help from animals, wind or rain in order
to mate and reproduce.
2. Plants give animals rewards, such as pollen and nectar,
as a lure to visit flowers.
3. Plants and animals have adapted to work together.
4. Pesticides, when applied inappropriately to crops, kill
many beneficial insects, such as pollinators.
5. Pollinators are essential for fruits, seeds, or new
generations of flowering plants.
6. Pollinators are threatened by habit loss and lack of host
plants.
7. Some pollinators migrate each year to cope with
climate and food issues.
Each module contains
4 main Lessons as
well as a suggested
Citizen Science
project.
FRONT
BACK
QUICK GUIDE Features:
•Essential Questions
•At A Glance
•Concepts
•Objectives
•Learning cycle wheel
•Procedures / Supplies
Pollination Quick
Guides
75 minute lesson plans
GRAB YOUR GEN QUICK GUIDE!
Pollination
Module:
Quick Guide 1
Pollination Module:
Quick Guide 2
Pollination Module:
Quick Guide 3
Pollination Module:
Quick Guide 4
POLLINATION MODULE:
-REVIEW RESOURCES
Introductory PowerPoint
Instructor Background Info
Internet search
Welcome to the
Pollination Department
Every place on Earth is an
ecosystem,
including
our club
site.
13
In today’s club adventure we
will investigate pollination
eco-services…
3
…provided at our club site.
4
Pollination is so much fun…,
bees even do headstands for it!
5
Pollination is:
1) another name for the country of Polli.
2) a new way to take a survey.
3) how plants reproduce.
6
If you guessed how
most plants reproduce…
You were right!
7
Let’s look at
the parts of
a flower.
Male parts:
stamens (anther
and filament)
Female parts: pistil
(stigma, style,
ovary)
8
Flower
Parts
Most flowers have both male and female parts, and
it is best if pollen goes from one plant to the stigma
of a different plant.
9
Here’s
another
kind of flower,
an Easter lily.
10
How do plants make sure that pollen
goes from one plant to another?
Separate male and
female flowers
11
Or plants might make sure that the
male & female flower parts mature
at different times.
Pollination Department
In Garden
Earth, Suga
Magnolia
oversees the
department and
all its workers.
13
Suga has lots of workers.
Let’s meet some of them.
14
Bees
15
Wasps
16
Butterflies
17
Beetles
18
Flies
19
Birds
20
Bats
21
Breezes (yes, the wind can pollinate)
Red Maple
Johnsongrass
22
Why do pollinators visit flowers?
•
To collect pollen: used as food for bee
larvae (babies).
23
Why do pollinators visit flowers?
•
To collect nectar: provides energy
for the pollinator or its young.
24
What attracts pollinators
to flowers?
•Flower color
•Flower odor
•Deception
25
Adaptations for Pollinators:
Hummingbirds often
visit flowers that have:
• Red color
• Flowers with a
tube shape
• Large amounts
of sweet
nectar
• Open during
day
Adaptations for Pollinators:
Hawkmoths often
visit flowers that
have:
• White color
• Flowers with a
tube shape
• Large amounts
of sweet nectar
• Open during
night
Adaptations for Pollinators: Butterflies
• Many colors
• Flower clusters to
land on
• Odorless
• Small floral tubes
with nectar
Adaptations for Pollinators:
Wind pollinated plants have:
• Tiny flowers
• Many flower
parts missing
• No nectar
• Open during
day or night
Adaptations for Pollinators:
Bees are the most common and
important pollinators.
•
•
•
•
Color:
yellow, blue,
white
Short tube
Sweet scent
Ultraviolet
patterns
From Gronquist, Matthew et al. (2001) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 98, 13745-13750.
How will we learn about
pollination ?
Bees! Hardworking Pollination department
workers!
How will we learn about
the Pollination
Department?
Parts of a Flower
Bees & Flowers: Lots of Variation
What could
hurt
pollinators
at our site?
36
Threats to Pollinators
Pollinators are
threatened by:
• Use of pesticides
• Lack of host
plants
• Destruction of
habitat
37
How can you help pollinators?
• Don’t use pesticides in
areas where
pollinators are visiting.
• Plant many different
kinds of plants to
provide nectar during
the entire growing
season.
• Leave some bare
areas as homes for
ground nesting bees.
What can we do to help the
Pollination Department at
our site?
Quiz Yourself
1. Most of the trees on our school site (oak, pine, etc.)
are dependent upon ________ for pollination.
2. Name five organisms (Pollination Department
workers) that move pollen from plant to plant.
3. The activities of man have forced many species to the
point of extinction. List two ways in which this is
happening.
4. What benefits or rewards do plants provide for their
flower visitors?
5. In plants, male reproductive cells are called
_______________ and female cells are called
_______________.
HAVE FUN LEADING THE
POLLINATION MODULE
WITH YOUR CLUB!
&
PLEASE SEND
PHOTOS OF
YOUR ACTIVITIES