The Insect/Pollen Connection

  Hello Gardeners, I’m Amanda McNulty with Clemson Extension and Making It Grow. Isn’t nature wonderful? Most plants need insects for pollination, the movement of pollen from male to female flower parts.That same pollen that sometimes makes us sneeze, that is required for seeds to grow and fruits and vegetable to enlarge, also provides a valuable food for many animals. Adult Bees, both honeybees, and native bees and a few wasps, use pollen as a food for their young and sometimes for themselves. Pollen is full of protein, which powers the growth of the pollen tube nuclei as it moves from the stigma to the ovary in a flower. This protein, along with the accompanying fats, amino acids, and vitamins makes it ideal for developing larvae to eat in their journey towards adulthood. A colony of honeybees collects from 50 to over a hundred pounds of pollen a year – for them a dust-filled home is a healthy one!