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The Pollination
of Native PlantsHeather Holm
Overview
Types of Insect Pollinators
Pollination
Access to Floral Resources
Flower Features & Attractants
Flower Development & Presentation of Resources
Green Sweat Bee Agapostemon sp.
Flies
Bees Social Wasps
BeetlesMothsButterflies
Solitary Wasps
Types of Insect Pollinators
Over 4000 species of bees in North America
300+ species of bees in Minnesota
Bees
Types of Insect Pollinators
Small Carpenter Bee Ceratina sp.
Bees - Common Genera in Minnesota
Mining Bees Andrena spp.
Long-Horned Bees Melissodes spp.
Mason Bees Osmia spp.
Small Carpenter Bees Ceratina spp.
Leafcutter Bees Megachile spp.
Small Resin Bees Heriades spp.
Carder Bees Anthidium spp.
Digger Bees Anthophora spp.
Types of Insect Pollinators
Bees - Common Genera in Minnesota
Sweat Bees Halictus spp.
Cellophane Bees Colletes spp.
Yellow-Faced Bees Hylaeus spp.
Small Sweat Bees Lasioglossum spp.
Green Sweat Bees Agapostemon spp.
Sweat Bees Augochlora spp.
Sweat Bees Augochlorella spp.
Types of Insect Pollinators
Bees - Common Genera in Minnesota
Cuckoo Bees Nomada spp.
Cuckoo Bees Triepeolus spp.
Cuckoo Bees Sphecodes spp.
Cuckoo Bees Coelioxys spp.
Types of Insect Pollinators
Bumble Bees, Bombus spp.
18 species in Minnesota
Types of Insect Pollinators
Bald-Faced Hornets Dolichovespula spp.
Paper nests in trees
Yellowjackets Vespula spp.
Paper nests in trees or in the ground
Paper Wasps Polistes spp.
Open paper nests on horizontal surfaces, tree limbs, house soffits
Social Wasps - Colony (Paper Nests)
Visit Flowers to Feed on Nectar
Types of Insect Pollinators
Ground Nesting Colonies Aggressive
Picnic Visitors
Attracted to fruit, pop, meat
MOST insect stings are caused by social wasps NOT BEES
CarnivoresFlower Visitors Docile
Yellowjacket Wasps
Types of Insect Pollinators
Construct Solitary Nests NOT Aggressive
Great Golden Digger Wasps Sphex ichneumoneus
Great Black Wasp Sphex pensylvanicus
Mason Wasps Euodynerus spp.
Solitary Wasps
Types of Insect Pollinators
Potter Wasps Eumenes spp.
Thread-Waisted Wasps Ammophila spp.
Grass-Carrying Wasps Isodontia spp.
Solitary Wasps = Beneficial InsectsHunt crickets, grasshoppers, katydids, sawfly larvae, caterpillars, beetles and bugs
Types of Insect Pollinators
Long Mouthparts = Access to Deep Tubular Flowers
Visit Flowers to Feed on NectarButterflies and Moths
Types of Insect Pollinators
Large butterflies pick up pollen on their wings
Small butterflies and moths pick
up pollen on their head and
mouthparts
Butterflies prefer flowers with a large landing platform
Butterflies and Moths
Types of Insect Pollinators
Visit Flowers to Feedon Nectar and Pollen
Soldier BeetlesChauliognathus spp.
Beetles
Types of Insect Pollinators
Long-Horned Beetles Cerambycidae Family
Beneficial Insect Some adults and most larvae are predators of aphids
Syrphid Flies (Flower Flies) Family Syrphidae The larvae of many syrphid flies feed on aphids
Flies
Types of Insect Pollinators Visit Flowers to Feedon Nectar and Pollen
Beneficial Insect
Bee Mimics
Bumble Bee Mimics
Wasp Mimics
Bee Flies Family Bombyliidae
Flies
Types of Insect Pollinators
Many have long, modified mouthparts
Tachinid FliesFamily Tachinidae
FLOWER = Food/Nesting MaterialsNectar • Pollen • Resin • Oil
INSECT = Transfers Pollento Other Plants ~ Pollination
Mutualistic ExchangePollination
Tongue Length
Bumble Bees Bombus spp.
Butterflies and Moths
Access to Floral Resources
Long Tongued
Yellow-Faced Bees Hylaeus spp.
Short Tongued
Syrphid FliesFamily Syrphidae
Size
Small Able to crawl into corollas of different widths to feed on resources
Medium - Large Restricted by tongue length & flower access
Access to Floral Resources
Easy Access
Composite ‘Daisy-Like’ Flowers
Azure Aster Symphyotrichum oolentangiense
Floral Features
Bilabiate
Smooth Beard Tongue Penstemon digitalis
Access More Restrictive
Flower Forms - Simple to Complex
ClosedRequires a bee strong enough to pry flower open
Bottle Gentian Gentiana andrewsii
Access Very Restrictive
Strength White Turtlehead, Chelone glabra
Access to Floral Resources
Pollen Basket (Corbicula)
Pollen Collection on the Hind Leg
Pollen Collection on the Abdomen
Bumble Bees & Honey Bees
Bees in the Leafcutter Family (Megachilidae)
Most other bees
Only female bees have pollen-collecting structures
Pollen Collection - Bees
Floral Resources
Swamp Milkweed Asclepias incarnata
Pollen Collection - Packaged Pollen
Floral Resources
Pollen Feeding - Bees, Flies, Beetles
Prairie Phlox, Phlox pilosa
Jacob’s Ladder Polemonium reptans
New England Aster Symphyotrichum novae-angliae
Floral Resources
Pollen is a source of protein
Solomon’s Seal Polygonatum biflorum
Prairie Smoke Geum triflorum
Buzz PollinationFloral Resources
Attractants
Nectar Guides
Stripes, spots or color contrasts on the flower
Prairie Phlox Phlox pilosa
Wild Petunia Ruellia humilis
Floral Resources
New England Aster Symphyotrichum novae-angliae
American Pasqueflower Anemone patens
Flower Color & Color Contrast
Flower Color & Color Contrast
Yellow petals and stamens only visual attractant
Bees do not ‘see’ red
A human’s view of black-eyed susan flowers
A bee’s view of black-eyed susan flowers
Attractants
Wild Columbine Aquilegia canadensis
Black-Eyed Susan Rudbeckia hirta
Floral Resources
Presentation of Resources
Sequential Development
Male Phase Female Phase = Protandrous
Wild GeraniumGeranium maculatum
Offset development of reproductive flower parts limits self-pollination
Flower Development
Sequential Development - Influence of Pollinator Activity
Wild GeraniumGeranium maculatum
Mason BeesOsmia spp.Collect Pollen
Small Carpenter BeesCeratina spp.Feed on Nectar
Syrphid FliesPipiza spp.Feed on Pollen
Presentation of ResourcesFlower Development
Self-compatible
Self-pollinates around the third day of flower opening
Flowers during fluctuating temperatures and potentially low pollinator activity
Bloodroot Sanguinaria canadensis
Sequential Development - Self-Pollinating Flowers
Presentation of ResourcesFlower Development
Sequential Development
Female Phase Male Phase = Protogynous
American PasqueflowerAnemone patens
Low nectar reward
Flowers track sun throughout the day creating a warm place for pollinators to forage
Presentation of ResourcesFlower Development
Canada Tick Trefoil Desmodium canadense
Keel Depressed Pollen Forcibly Ejected
Flower Activated
Pollen Presentation
Presentation of ResourcesFlower Development
Leafcutter Bee Megachile sp.
Pollen Presentation
Presentation of ResourcesFlower Development
Harebell Campanula rotundifolia
Male Phase Female Phase = Protandrous
Pollinators visit for pollen and nectar
Pollen Presentation
Presentation of ResourcesFlower Development Harebell
Campanula rotundifolia
Male Phase Female Phase = Protandrous
Pollen is shed from anthers and drops into the bottom of the flower
As the style elongates, hairs pick up the pollen grains
Bees feed on pollen presented on the style
Pollen Presentation
Presentation of ResourcesFlower Development Harebell
Campanula rotundifolia
Leafcutter bees collect/pick up pollen on their abdomen as they forage for nectar
Pollen Presentation
Presentation of ResourcesFlower Development
Harebell Campanula rotundifolia
Hairs eventually retract, pollen falls off and the stigma becomes receptive
Female Phase
Pollinatorsvisit for nectar
Presentation of ResourcesFlower Development
Nectar Production/Nectary Location- Influence on Foraging Behavior
Wild White Indigo Baptisia lactea
Flowers develop from the bottom of the raceme upward
Nectar production peaks during the female (pistillate) phase
Male Phase Female Phase = Protandrous
Presentation of ResourcesFlower Development
Nectar Production/Nectary Location - Influence on Foraging Behavior
Wild White Indigo Baptisia lactea
Flowers primarily visited by queen bumble bees in early spring
Bumble bees land on the lowest open flowers on the raceme
Lowest flowers are in the female phase producing more nectar
Male Phase Female Phase = Protandrous
Downy Yellow Violet Viola pubescens
Enter Violets Upside Down to Feed on Nectar
Illustration redrawn from: Beattie, A. J. (1974). Floral evolution in Viola. Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden, 781-793.
Presentation of ResourcesFlower Development Nectar Production/Nectary Location
Influence on Foraging Behavior
Presentation of ResourcesFlower Development
Nectar Production/Nectary Location- Influence on Foraging Behavior
Prairie Phlox Phlox pilosa
Nectary at the base of the flower corollaAnthers staggered - 2 near opening, 2 belowAnthers shed pollen first (protandrous)
Presentation of ResourcesFlower Development
Nectar Production/Nectary Location- Influence on Foraging BehaviorPollen Presentation
Prairie Phlox Phlox pilosa
Initial visits after flowers open are by pollen-foraging pollinators
Presentation of ResourcesFlower Development
Nectar Production/Nectary Location- Influence on Foraging BehaviorPollen Presentation
Prairie Phlox Phlox pilosa
Butterflies and moths are the most effective and primary pollinators
Flowers are self-incompatible (require cross-pollination)
Provide a Variety of Flowering Native
Plants That Overlap Through The Season
Leave Areas of Bare Soil For Ground Nesting Bee Species
Place/bundle hollow plants stems in the landscape for Cavity-Nesting Pollinators
Leave Standing Tree Snags, Old Potter Wasp Nests, Standing Hollow Stems
Do not use pesticides.
1Provide Larval Host Plants for Butterflies & Moths
Talk to Your Neighbors or friends about the importance of pollinators
Create New Habitat for pollinators and remove invasive plants
Use Straight Native Plant Species
Plant breeding can cause flowers to
lose fragrance, nectar, pollen &
bee accessibility
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Do Not Disturb Existing Nesting
Sites in your landscape
Top 10 Things YOU can do for Pollinators
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