At-Home STEM Activities: Pollinators--What Do They Do and Ways to Attract Them
In honor of National Wildflower Week, this week’s Distance Learning offerings are focusing on the plant world.
Image via Scientific american/George Retseck
For many plants to produce seeds, fruit, and the next generation, pollination is a key step. Pollen is stored in a plant’s anther, which is a part of the stamen. During pollination, the grains of pollen are moved from the anther to the stigma, a part of the pistil.
Some plants can pollinate themselves—including, among others, some varieties of orchids, lettuce, tomatoes, and sunflowers—and these are aptly named self-pollinators. Other plants need to exchange pollen with different plants in their species, and these are called cross-pollinators. Cross-pollinators are reliant on outside factors to move pollen from one plant to another, and these factors can be in the form of wind, water, and animals.
An animal that helps plants cross-pollinate is called a pollinator, and they are an especially important for farming and for the ecosystem as a whole. While some crops, like wheat, can pollinate via wind, about three-quarters of fruits, vegetables, and nuts that we grow rely on for diverse and healthy diets require an animal for pollination. Beyond agriculture, about 80-95% of plants rely on pollinators. Plant species of all kinds are the base for food chains—herbivores eat the plants, predators eat the herbivores—and they also provide shelter for animals. Without pollinators, habitats around the world would be much less diverse, leading to weaker ecosystems as a whole.
There are many animals that act as pollinators, including birds, insects, and bats. In New England, the most common pollinators are bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. Over 4,000 species of bees can be seen in New England, over 100 species of butterflies, and only one common nesting species of hummingbirds, the ruby-throated hummingbird.
European Honey Bee
Image via thehoneybeeconservancy.org
Eastern Tiger swallowtail
Image Via NABA.ORG/Marj Rines
Ruby-Throated Hummingbird
Image via Audubon.org/David Shipper/Audubon Photography Awards
Since pollinators are so important, we can do our part to help make the area outside our homes more welcoming to them. Here are a few ideas you can try at home to help invite pollinators into your outdoor space!
Bee House
Image via Bugguide.net/Beatriz Moisset
Mason bees are a gentle, rarely-stinging, solitary species of bees that make their nests in small gaps and holes. Female mason bees collect pollen and nectar from plants to pack into their nesting sites, lay their eggs, and cover the egg with mud. Since female mason bees tend to visit multiple plants to create their nests, they’re effective pollinators. One of the main causes of the decline of bee species is a loss of habitat. We can help alleviate this problem by giving solitary species like mason bees nesting sites in a homemade bee house!
Materials:
Medium-sized can
Acrylic paint (optional)
Sheets of paper—we used a paper shopping bag, but you can use pieces of junk mail, old newspapers, or other recycled paper
Scissors
Glue stick
Pencil
Round object—we used a knitting needle, but any object about 0.25-0.5 inch in diameter will work
White glue or wood glue
String
Instructions:
1. If you would like, you can start by painting your can. Otherwise, move on to step 2.
2. Measure the length of your can, and cut out rectangles of paper that are as long as your can and about 2 inches wide. Create the nesting straws by wrapping the paper around your round object, placing a line of glue on one long side of the paper, pressing together, and removing from the round object. Repeat until you have enough straws to fit snugly in your can—we needed about 50 straws.
3. Spread some white or wood glue in the bottom and sides of the can and place the paper straw in the can. Once the glue has dried, trim any straws that are sticking out beyond the lip of the can.
4. Tie string around the bee house and hang it outside to start attracting those pollinators!
Butterfly Puddler
Many species of butterflies partake in “puddling,” which is where butterflies drink water and extract minerals, like salt, from mud or wet sand. We can make our little butterfly oases for our pollinator friends.
Materials:
Shallow dish—we’re using jar lids, but other good options for your butterfly puddler include an unused bird bath, a pie tin, or a saucer used to catch water dripping from potted plants
Sand
Rocks of various sizes
Water
Over-ripe fruit (optional)
Instructions:
1. Fill your shallow dish with sand all the way to the lip of the dish, smoothing and slightly tamping down the sand.
2. Place some rocks around your dish to give the butterflies places to land.
3. Add enough water to your puddler to wet the sand and create a few pockets of water, but not enough to have a pool of water, since butterflies can’t land on open water. We used a spray bottle, but you can use a watering can or just add water from your faucet.
4. Place your puddler near some flowers. If you want, you can also add some over-ripe fruit to give the butterflies a snack. Keep the sand moist, and watch for butterflies who are stopping by for a drink!
Window Hummingbird Feeder
A hummingbird eats about half its body weight in sugar everyday. While flower nectar is the best source of sugar for the tiny birds, we can help supplement their diet and provide extra sustenance during nesting and migration seasons with a sugar water feeder.
Materials:
Feeder:
Small glass or plastic container with a lid—we’re using a small bottle with a rubber stopper, but some other options could be a small mason jar, a spice jar with a shaker cap, or a small test tube
Nail and hammer or other sharp object, if your lid doesn’t have a hole (adult supervision needed!)
Wire
Suction cup
Red paint (optional)
Nectar:
Refined, white sugar
Water
Tea kettle or pot (adult supervision needed when using a stove!)
Measuring cup (with a pouring spout)
Funnel (optional)
Instructions:
1. If your lid doesn’t have any holes, use the sharp object (with adult supervision) to put one in it. Hummingbirds are attracted to the color red, so you can paint the lid red, if you would like.
2. Wrap one end of the wire around the container, providing enough support to hold it. Wrap the other end around a suction cup so you’ll be able to hang the feeder on a window.
3. Now that you’ve constructed your feeder, we need to make the nectar to fill it. The National Audubon Society recommends that the best and simplest recipe for hummingbird nectar is a 1:4 ratio of refined white sugar to water. Since our feeders our so small, we don’t need very much nectar to fill it. If you’d like to have extra nectar, you can use 1/4 cup of sugar and 1 cup of water. We’re going to make a small batch of nectar, though, and just use 1 tablespoon of sugar and 1/4 of water. To begin, with an adult, boil water in a kettle or in the microwave.
4. Put the amount of sugar you’re using in the measuring cup. Once the water is boiling, add that to the measuring cup. Allow the sugar to dissolve, and then let the sugar water cool to room temperature.
5. Carefully fill the hummingbird feeder with the nectar—you can use a funnel to make this easier. You can store any leftover nectar in the refrigerator, allowing it to warm to room temperature before refilling your feeder.
6. Stick the suction cup to a window, and observe as hummingbirds stop by your feeder! In warm weather, be sure to clean your hummingbird feeder twice a week by disposing of any remaining nectar and rinsing it out with only hot water (soaps can leave behind a toxic residue). In cool weather, cleaning once a week is recommended.
Other ways to invite pollinators to your neighborhood:
Plant native flowers. Native species like to eat native plants! By growing native flowers in your garden or in a pot by your front door, you’ll help pollinators have a place to stop by for a good meal and create more opportunity for pollination of native plants.
Give your lawn mower a break. Let a place in your backyard turn into a mini-meadow—taller grass provides shelter, food, and nesting areas for many species of pollinators.
Give your rake a break, too! Many insects hibernate in leaf piles in the winter. Letting your yard stay a little messy with some plant and leaf cover gives these insects a safe place to sleep.
Support local bees and beekeepers. Check out a local farmer’s market (when it’s safe to do so in person, and some areas have turned to the internet for local growers and artisans to sell there wares) to find honey made by beekeepers in your hometown. Giving support to beekeepers allows them to continue to provide a home for pollinators!
