We
talked about several concepts, but I focused on pollination because it seems to
have caught my attention the most. Pollination is ransfer of pollen from
the anthers of a flower to the stigma of the same flower or of another
flower. Pollination is a prerequisite for fertilization, which allows the flower to develop seeds.
Some
flowers will develop seeds as a result of self-pollination, when pollen and
pistil are from the same plant. Other plants require cross-pollination and for
this pollen and pistil must be from different plants.
When plants need help moving pollen from one flower to the pistil of another. Wind
moves the pollen for some plants such as grasses like corn. Animal
pollinators move pollen for many other flowering plants.
Pollinator is an
animal that moves pollen from the anthers to the stigmas of flowers, thus
effecting pollination. Animals that are good pollinators
of flowers include bees, butterflies, hummingbirds, moths, some flies, some
wasps, and nectar feeding bats.
Plants
benefit from pollinators because the movement of pollen allows them to
reproduce by setting seeds. However, pollinators don't know or care
that the plant benefits. They pollinate to get nectar and/or pollen
from flowers to meet their energy requirements and to produce offspring. In
the economy of nature, the pollinators provide an important service to
flowering plants, while the plants pay with food for the pollinators and their
offspring.
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