HOME

Pollination

Bees are very useful insects, because they do two important jobs. They make honey for us to eat, and they carry pollen from one plant to another, so that the plants can make seeds for new plants. This job is called pollination. Bees pollinate flowers in the garden, trees (like fruit trees), vegetables, and many other plants that we eat. Without bees, we would not be able to grow these plants! You will often see some white bee hives in the corner of orchards - have a look next time you drive past one.

Here is a bee on a flower, gathering pollen to take back to the hive, but it is also dropping off bits of pollen from the last flower it visited, and pollinating this one. So the flower is happy and the bee is happy! Plants that want bees to do the job of pollination often have bright colours so that they show up well.

When you look at this close-up photo of a bee, you can see how it has got pollen all over it, not just in its pollen baskets. When it lands on another flower, some of this pollen will come off, and mix with the pollen in the second flower. This is how pollination takes place.

Back to Top