How do butterflies and bees pollinate plants?
Butterflies pollinate by transferring pollen from one flower to another as they fly from bloom to bloom in search of nectar. When a butterfly lands on a flower to drink nectar, pollen from the flower’s anthers can stick to the butterfly’s legs, body, or proboscis (a long, tube-like tongue). As the butterfly moves to another flower, this pollen can rub off onto the receiving flower’s stigma, facilitating pollination.
Butterflies like to perch on larger flower heads when they hunt nectar, collecting pollen on their legs and body as they search for food. The legs and the butterfly’s proboscis are longer and farther away from the flower’s pollen so less pollen collects on its body parts than it does on bees, but still they are very effective pollinators.
Honey bees pollinate by collecting pollen and nectar from flowers. As bees move from flower to flower, their hairy bodies and specialized structures like pollen baskets collect pollen, which then transfers to other flowers, facilitating fertilization. This process, called cross-pollination, is crucial for plant reproduction and the production of fruits and seeds.
Bees fly in and out of flower heads and have an easier time with pollination because they are collecting nectar on all parts of their bodies; they have shorter legs and bodies and are not so cranelike as butterflies. Butterflies pollinate during the day while flowers are open and they have a better color perception than bees or even humans. They can see red, their favorite color, while bees cannot. They also find their nectar by being able to see ultraviolet light which makes flower markings very distinct to them.
To help the bees and butterflies continue their great work we must all plant colorful, wildlife-friendly gardens full of nectar-rich flowers. I have found that my butterfly garden is not only, of course, a magnet for butterflies. It attracts hummingbirds, hummingbird moths, night-flying moths and honeybees.
A Welcome Garden Guest Gathering Nectar
One in three bites of food you eat depends on pollinators. The numbers of these pollinators are being reduced in alarming rates by habitat loss, through urbanization and the overuse of pesticides. Honeybees are losing ground to a parasitic mite. More than 90 percent of all plants need a pollinator to distribute pollen to set fruit and seeds. You can help pollination by creating a pollinator-friendly habitat without sacrificing aesthetics. Add diversity to your landscape with a beautiful tapestry of native plants that have evolved with local pollinators and thrive under the conditions in our region.
Our Latest Selections Of Perennial Pollinators
