Pollination and insect facts

	Did you know?

1	Bees are guided by sight and smell and can only see blue and yellow colours. Think about it, which plants in your garden are most attractive to bees?
2	Honeybees have hair on their eyes.
3	In bumblebee hives, the entire colony, except for the queen, dies at the end of each summer. Each year an entirely new colony of bees must be produced.
4	The bumblebee does not die when it stings contrary to popular belief – it can sting and sting again.
5	Butterflies, like bees are guided by sight and smell. Some, unlike bees are able to see red and therefore pollinate red or orange flowers like Buddleia's
6	Some plants produce pollen but not nectar. These include poppies, paeonies and roses.
7	Some flowers have streaks on the petals to guide insects to the nectar source and large petals that act as landing platforms. i.e. Herbaceous geraniums.
8	Some plants emit ultraviolet light. Many insects can see this as we would see a normal colour. Ultra violet light is the last to fade at dusk and these plants may have evolved to increase the chances of pollination. The evening primrose or Oenothera biennis is one such species.
9	Insect pollinated flowers have several ways of attractive insects. These have large colourful petals, scent, nectar, hooked pollen to stick to insects and anthers that are inside the flower to ensure the pollen is transferred to it's host.
10	A bumble bee flaps its wings 160 beats per second
11	Only female wasps and bees sting.
12	Bees will only visit flowers with at least 30-35% sugar in their nectar. This ensures their larvae are kept alive in the hive throughout the winter.
13	A queen bee may lay as many as 3,000 eggs per day. The largest nests contain upto 60,000 bees.
14	Some plants are pollinated by wind. These have small petals, no scent, no nectar, smooth pollen as there is no need to stick to insects and large anthers that hang outside the flowers to be carried away by the wind. The members of the grass family are examples of wind pollinated plants.
15	Pollen grains have a limited life span, this can be only a few hours to several weeks.
16	Flowers pollinated by butterflies and moths have tubelike flowers where the insect can dip their long proboscis in to reach the nectar. The pollen in these flowers is large and sticky i.e. Lilac and Buddleia.
17	Butterflies cannot fly if their body temperature is less than 86 degrees.
18	Some plants trick insects into pollinating them. Wallflowers, aubretias,nasturtium, magionette and cabbages produce a mustard scent that contains pheromones. Large White butterflies land on these plants thinking the scent is from a potential mate and as a result fertilize them.
19	Vanilla seems to seduce butterflies above all other smells. Heliotropes, Buddleia's and Ivy flowers are firm favorites too.
20	Moth pollinated flowers are normally white and more conspicuous at night when moths are active. They normally have a strong perfume to attract pollinators to the flowers. i.e. Honeysuckle and evening primrose
21	Birds are attracted to red and yellow flowers, although sadly there are no bird pollinated flowers in the UK. The pollen sticks to their feathers. These flowers produce more viscous nectar and in larger quantity as the birds drink it.
22	A pair of great tits feed an average brood of half grown chicks 400 - 500 times per day. Over the 19 days they are in the nest they will eat about 114,000 larvae.
23	There are 4,300 known species of ladybird in the world. Their natural diet of ladybirds consists of soft-bodied insects, such as aphids, spider mites, and young caterpillars. Adults can consume up to 100 aphids a day.
24	Some flowers are pollinated by beetles. These are normally white and produce strong odours. Examples include Cow Parsley - 'Anthriscus sylvestris', Angelica - 'Angelica archangelica', Magnolia and Dogwoods.
25	Some plants only allow one type of insect to pollinate them such as species of Yucca and Orchid.
26	There are more beetles on planet earth than any other living creature. The number of species alone is nearly a quarter-million.
27	Some plants are pollinated by mice. The protea and hooked pincushion produce an aroma that attracts them. When a mouse sticks it's face into the flower, it explodes covering it's head with pollen.
28	A spider is not an insect. It is an arachnid – it has eight legs instead of six, and has no wings or antennae. The same is true of the daddy longlegs
29	No two spiders webs are the same.
30	Flies also pollinate flowers. They are normally attracted to pungent smelling flowers that produce a similar smell to carrion.
31	The average house fly lives only two weeks.
32	Foxes have a real sweet tooth. If your garden is visited at night by them, put out some stale cake or biscuits and i'll guarantee they'll be gone by morning. Or better still get them used to an outside light and see how delicately they eat.

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