How Do Honeybees Pollinate Flowers?

Attracting Honeybees

Before a honeybee can pollinate a flower, it must first be attracted to that flower. Using colors (typically yellow, blue, or some mixture of the two) to draw the bees in, flowers also attract bees with their aromas or fragrances. Bees seem to be attracted to symmetry as well--flowers with petals on one side that are mirrored on the other. Finally, flowers that are open during the day and full of nectar attract honeybees.

Pollen Takes a Ride

The honeybee forages around inside the flower looking for food (nectar and pollen). As the bees move around, their feet slip into tiny grooves, grooves that are filled with sacs of pollen. The pollen has come from the anther of the flower, the anther being the male part of the flower. When the bee's feet fall into these grooves, the pollen sacs stick to the bee's leg. When the honeybee flies off, the pollen from the anther flies off with it, literally taking a ride.

Delivering the Pollen

When the bee arrives at another flower, the honeybee forages around and the pollen may fall off or get rubbed off of the bee's leg onto the stigma (female part) of that flower. The flower has just been pollinated by the honeybee. This process results in the creation of a seed a short time later.

References

• Think Quest.
• U.S. Forest Service.
• MBG Net.