Background

Plants that need pollinators to help them make fertile seeds have adapted (changed over time) to attract certain pollinators. And pollinators have also adapted over time to better collect nectar and pollen from plants. When two different groups of living things change over time together, scientists call this co-evolution.

Because of the relationship that plants and pollinators have had through time, pollinators tend to look for plants with flowers that have specific traits when they are foraging (looking for food). For example, moths that fly at night look for white or green flowers that are visible in the dark. Hummingbirds are mostly attracted to long tube-shaped flowers that their narrow beak can get into. Beetles tend to look for wide, bowl shaped flowers so they can easily get to the pollen. They all match up.

---

Task

Part A

Explore our interactive Wild About Pollinators poster and observe which pollinators are drawn to which kinds of flowers. You can click on any of the pollinators or plants to learn more about them.

Part B

1. Use the resource linked to this activity, called “Matchmaker - plants and pollinators” to match the pollinators to the flowers they are most likely to visit. There are five matches to be made.

2. Share the matches you’ve made in the discussion section in the forum called “Matchmaker”. For each pair, explain why you’ve matched them up.

---

Learning Objectives

• Understand that pollinators and plants have changed together over time (co-evolved)
• Understand that co-evolution has lead to adaptions for both the pollinating animal and plant
• Understand that different pollinators visit different kinds of flowers 
• Understand that pollinators are attracted to plants by the characteristics of their flowers (colour, shape, scent, size, etc.)

---

Continue to 3. Pollinator Party »