The Pollinators
Bees and Butterflies
What animal is this? What is it covered with? What do you think happened?
I can describe the characteristics of an insect.
I can summarize the life cycle of an insect.I can describe how insects and plants depend on each other.
Which are insects? Explain your thinking to your team.
What is an insect? Let's read Bug Out! for more information.
How do the bees and insects pollinate flowers?
This bumble bee is starting the pollination process without even realizing it! When bees land on a flower, like this milkweed flower, their feet often slip into a little groove that holds pollen sacs. When the bee flies away it carries off this sac like a saddlebag stuck on its feet. When this bee lands on another flower looking for nectar, the "saddlebag" falls off, the pollen falls out of the sac, and pollination is underway.
What are some animals that carry pollen from plant to plant?
Let's learn a song that explains how pollen helps plants grow.
What pollinators will we see in our butterfly garden? What will they be doing? Which plants will they be helping?
Make a T chart in your NF Reading notebook.
Label the headings: Pollinator and Observations.
Use your eyes and ears to observe pollinators.
Talk with your partner about what you see the pollinator doing.
Write down your observations.