Stop! Thief! Carpenter Bees are Notorious Nectar Robbers
From Deep Look
4 min2nd3rd4th5thScience
Summary
Some carpenter bees cheat -- instead of entering a flower the front way, they cut a hole in the side to steal nectar without pollinating. Deep Look shows this sneaky behavior and why pollination usually helps both bee and flower.
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All ages
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Teaching resources
Discussion questions
Talk about it
Normally a bee crawls into a flower, picks up pollen, and carries it to the next bloom. A nectar-robbing bee bites a hole to drink without touching the pollen -- so the plant loses out. It shows why pollination is a two-way deal.
- How does a nectar robber get food without helping the flower?
- How do bees usually help flowers when they feed?
- Why is pollination good for both the bee and the plant?
Quick work-a-long
Vocabulary: nectar, pollinate, flower, behavior.
Try it: Draw a bee entering a flower the right way and one poking a side hole. Write which one helps the plant make seeds.