When the plant has enough energy, and the time of year is right, it creates a flower.
Plants need to move material called pollen from one flower to another. However, they need the help of other living things.
The flower is excellent at atracting flying insects, such as bees. It contains nectar, which is a sugary liquid which animals can use as food.
The flower is often brightly coloured and has a strong scent, which makes it better at attracting insects.
When the insect enters the flower, some pollen might fall off into the flower. When pollen from one flower goes into another flower, the flower is pollinated.
Once a flower has been pollinated, it has enough material to produce a seed. The seed is capable of growing into another plant. So, like all living things, plants need to reproduce, or make more of themselves.
What can be done to save insects which are useful for pollinating?
The easy way to protect our local pollinators is plant nectar- rich flowers, plants and trees. Another way is let our gardens grow wild with leaving patches of land, so pollinators have great nesting and feeding sites. There is much more ways of course, but I will write more about it in my next post.
Without pollinators, especially the availability of fresh produce would decline, and human nutrition would likely suffer.
Pollinators are critical for many of the crop products we use daily, other animals and plants, so they are our allies and thanks to them we have fruits, vegetables, flowers and trees. So, pollinators are essential in the global food supply and in the natural balance of our planet.