Petal Power

A monarch butterfly flutters above a bright red flower. It lands and uncurls its long tongue to sip the flower’s sweet nectar. As the butterfly sits among the petals, an orange-yellow powder called pollen sticks to its body. The butterfly flies away and lands on another flower. This time, some of the pollen on its body brushes off.

The pollen left behind by the butterfly travels down into the flower. It combines with tiny eggs that grow into seeds. Moving pollen from one plant to another is called pollination. It’s the reason many plants have flowers.

Pollen Partners

Most plants can’t pollinate by themselves — they need helpers, called pollinators. Some plants use the wind. They make small, light pollen that’s easy to blow along. Plants pollinated by the wind may still have flowers, but their flowers don’t need to be big and colorful.

Other plants rely on living creatures such as insects, birds, and bats to spread their pollen. They make nectar these creatures use as food. Plants need their pollinators to come close and brush up against the flower’s sticky pollen. A flower’s color, shape, size, and smell all work to attract its pollen partners.

Color Me Yummy

A brightly colored flower brings pollinators, but they all have their favorite colors. Hummingbirds like red. Bumblebees prefer blue and yellow. (In fact, bees can’t see red at all.) Some insects and birds can see colors that people can’t. These colors are called ultraviolet, or UV. Some flowers have UV markings to guide pollinators to the nectar that waits inside. These markings mean “Land here!” A petal’s striped pattern works the same way.

The petals themselves are like little landing pads. Most butterflies, beetles, and bees can’t fly and eat at the same time. They need somewhere to sit and sip. The flower gives them a place to do that and coats them in pollen at the same time.

What’s That Smell?

A flower’s scent also attracts pollinators. They pick up the smell in the air and follow it to the flower. Some bats sniff out flowers that smell musty. Bees like sweet scents. Beetles may prefer a spicy smell. Some flowers even stink like rotting meat to attract flies!

Not all flowers are scented. Birds don’t have much of a sense of smell, so flowers pollinated by birds may not have a scent. They don’t need one. Birds find them by their color instead.

One Size Fits Most

A flower’s shape and size may fit its pollen partner. Beetles aren’t skillful fliers. So, they look for wide-open flowers with large petals where it’s easier to land. Flowers that partner with hummingbirds grow in a tube shape that only a hummingbird’s skinny beak and long tongue can reach.

A few flowers fool their pollinators. A bee orchid has brown and yellow markings in the shape of a female bee. Male bees land, thinking they’ve found a mate! They get a dusting of pollen instead.

Win-Win

Plants provide insects, birds, and bats with food. Pollinators spread the pollen that helps make new plants. Flowers may be pretty, but they do much more. They help make plants and their pollinators perfect partners.