Requirement 8 (A)
Requirement
Investigate pollination and its importance to our environment and ecosystems. Make a list of five pollinators and the plants that attract them in your region. Explain the importance of pollinators and what Scouts can do to support pollinators in their area.
Pollination Overview
Pollination is one of the most important natural processes on Earth. It happens when pollen moves from one flower to another, allowing plants to make seeds, fruits, and new plants. Without pollination, many of the foods we eat, like apples, berries, vegetables, and nuts, would not exist, and natural habitats would struggle to survive. Pollination helps keep ecosystems healthy by supporting plants that provide food, shelter, and clean air and water for wildlife and people.
Many different animals help with pollination, including bees, butterflies, hummingbirds, moths, and even bats. As these pollinators visit flowers for nectar or pollen, they accidentally carry pollen to other plants. Some plants and pollinators are perfectly matched, like hummingbirds and trumpet-shaped flowers (pollinator pairs). Today, pollinators are threatened by habitat loss, pesticides, and climate change. Scouts can help by planting native flowers, protecting habitats, and learning how to care for pollinators in their communities.
What Gets Pollinated?
Pollination is important to many plants that humans use for food, textiles, construction, paper production, and biofuel.
Important Plants That Get Pollinated
Flowering Plants
Most plants that get pollinated are flowering plants (angiosperms). These plants attract pollinators with bright colors, nectar, or scents.
Gymnosperms
Some gymnosperms, like pine trees, rely on wind pollination.
Wind-Pollinated Grains
Plants like wheat, barley, oats, rye, and corn disperse pollen through the air.
Fruits and Vegetables
Apples, blueberries, strawberries, peppers, tomatoes, and some squashes require pollination to develop their seeds and fleshy parts.
Nuts and Seeds
Almonds, cashews, sunflower seeds, and coffee beans come from pollinated flowers.
Fiber Crops
Cotton, used for textiles, relies on pollination to produce fibers.
Biofuel Crops
Canola and other plants grown for biofuels often require pollination.
Wildflowers and Ornamentals
Wildflowers and many ornamental plants depend on pollination to reproduce.
Trees
Many trees, including fruit trees, nut trees, and timber trees, rely on pollination.
Who Are the Pollinators?
Many different species play the role of pollinator by moving pollen from one plant to another. The examples below highlight some of the important pollinators in the United States.
Pollinators
Bees – Honeybees
Pollinate crops such as apples, almonds, and blueberries, and native bees pollinate tomatoes, squash, and wildflowers.
Hoverflies
Pollinate over half of wildflowers and food crops. As a bonus, their larvae eat aphids
Butterflies
Pollinate flowers like milkweed, daisies, and sunflowers
Moths
Pollinate night-blooming plants such as yucca and evening primrose
Birds
(Such as hummingbirds) – Pollinate flowering plants like trumpet vine and columbine
Bats
Pollinate plants including agave, bananas, and mangoes
Beetles
Pollinate magnolias and water lilies
Flies
Pollinate crops like onions and carrots, and many wild plants
Wasps
Pollinate figs (fig wasps are essential for fig trees) as well as orchids and other flowering plants
Resources
Resources
The Xerces Society provides pollinator plant lists by state, so you can find out about plants and pollinators in your state.
Scouts Helping Pollinators
Read about a Scout who was chosen to receive the 2024 Messengers of Peace Distinguished Project Award. He led 100 volunteers in transforming a half-acre area of non-native grass in Poolesville, Maryland, into a thriving pollinator habitat, supporting monarch butterflies, birds, and other wildlife.
Read about a Scout who worked with volunteers to design and build the 1,700-square-foot Brian C. Thomas Memorial Pollinator Garden at Wescott Beach State Park. Working with New York State Parks officials, they planted over 2,000 native pollinator plants to support birds, insects, amphibians, reptiles, and especially, pollinators.”
Suggested Activity: Make a Bee Home
Suggested Activity: Make a Bee Home
Use this information from the Chicago Botanic Garden for two options on how to make a bee home.
Now that you have learned about pollination and its importance to our environment and ecosystems,
let’s observe pollination in action.
