Bees are very, very important as pollinators of fruits and vegetables that we eat, or feed to livestock. Bees also pollinate plants we get our clothes from (cotton) as well as plants that line our rivers and streams and control erosion. Bees and other insects pollinate many plants world-wide, and these plants form the forests, grasslands and jungles that provide habitat for animals everywhere!

So what is pollination?

Pollination is the transfer of pollen grains from the flower's anther where they are formed, to the stigma which is the opening to the part of the flower where the seed is formed.

Pollination is important to plants, because it is required for them to reproduce and make more plants. Pollination is important to people, for the formation of many of the fruits we eat.

In many plants, the anther and stigma of a single flower mature at different times, so pollen must be moved from one flower to another.

Since pollen can't walk, insects moving from one flower to another carry the pollen grains so a new fruit can be formed.

Some pollen can be blown by the wind from flower to flower. Windborne pollen in the air is what causes allergies in people who are sensitive. But the pollen of apples, pears, peaches, alfalfa, almonds, avacados, cantalope, cucumber, cotton, watermelon and many other plants, needs to be carried by insects, and honeybees do this job the best!

The honeybee actually visits flowers to get food. Bees collect the pollen from flowers and take it back to the hive where it is stored until it is used to feed the bees in the hive. Bees also get nectar from the flowers they visit. Nectar is produced by plants, and is a sugar filled liquid that bees drink from the flower and carry back to the hive where it is made into honey. As the bee moves from flower to flower getting food, the plant benefits in being able to produce fruits, with seeds that can grow into new plants.

The plant and the pollinator (the honeybee) both get something from their relationship. Plants and their pollinators have been benefitting each other for over 100 million years.

The are lots of pollination experts on the web. You can read about Pollination of citrus fruits, or check out this great article and lesson on all sorts of pollinators. Here's is a brief description of different pollinators and the kinds of flowers they prefer. Here's a quick word game about pollination. There is even a slide illustrated lecture going on right now at the Smithsonian's Pollinarium.