4.0 NATURAL HISTORY OF THE HONEYBEE
The candidate will be:
4.5 aware of the importance of pollination to flowering plants, and consequently to farmers and growers;
NOTES
Flowering plants have evolved in symbiosis with pollinating insects that cross fertilise and spread the plants genetic material.
Pollen is the male sex cell and is transferred by pollinators to the female stigma. The sex cells then fuse and create a viable seed.
A fruit may have several seeds, and the more of these that are fertilised, the better quality the resulting fruit will be. For example, apples that have been inadequately fertilised will be small and misshapen and will probably fall off the tree before ripening.
80% of flowering plants rely on the services of insects for pollination, and of these, 85% are pollinated by honeybees.
Farmers and growers are therefore dependent on pollinators to produce fruit crops and insufficient numbers of these will results in low yields.