- Bees and flowers have a symbiotic relationship.Design Pics/Valueline/Getty Images
Flowering plants and bees have developed an interdependent relationship. The bees are provided with nectar and pollen to keep their hives populated. The flowers get help in the pollination process, needed to create seeds for the next generation. The end result is that each species helps the other reproduce and survive. - Bees collect nectar from flowers to bring back to the hive for food and to store as honey. They have tiny honey sacs that hold the nectar, which is then regurgitated into the cells of the honeycomb. Nectar serves as food for the bees, and is their main source of carbohydrates. It is also used to make royal jelly, a paste-like substance the worker bees feed to their queen. Pollen, a rich source of amino acids, is collected at the same time. Bees' bodies are covered with fine hairs. As the insect collects nectar from the base of the flower it rubs against the anther, picking up the pollen. Most of it is gathered into the bee's pollen sacs, located on the legs. The pollen is fed to the larvae growing in the hive.
- The flowering plants need the bees to transport the pollen from one flower to another. The male sex organ is the stamen and is located around the female sex organ, the pistil. Both are in the center of the flower. The anther is on the very end of the stamen. When the bee brushes against it picking up pollen, not all of it makes it into the pollen sacs. Some of it gets left on the stigma of the next flower visited. The stigma is the sticky end of the female pistil. The pollen travels down a tube called a style to the ovary, where it fertilizes the ovules which then become seeds. By providing the bees with nectar, the flowers encourage the insects to fly from flower to flower, fertilizing them along the way. Bees will continue to visit the same flower until all the nectar is gone. This increases the chance of pollination.
- Most flowers tend to blossom in late spring or summer. This corresponds nicely with bees' active period. Bees will only fly on warm days during the rest of the year. Flowers also provide nectar guides in the ultraviolet color range that help bees find flowers. Once a bee finds a source of nectar, it will go back to the hive and do a "dance." This tells the worker bees, the only ones that look for nectar, where to find the flowers. This helps the plants by ensuring more visits and thus more chances for pollination. Bees cannot see the color red. Flowers of this color are most often pollinated by hummingbirds, butterflies or other insects.
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