What it shows
Many flowers depend on insects, birds or bats to move pollen so they can make fruit. Counting visitors on two kinds of flower at different times of day shows which flowers and hours are busiest.
The science
Pollination is the transfer of pollen from an anther to a stigma, and many plants use animals for this. Flowers advertise with colour, scent and nectar, and the visitors pick up pollen on their bodies and carry it to the next flower. Bees see blue, yellow and ultraviolet well, while butterflies often visit red and pink flowers. Visits vary with time of day, weather and temperature, so repeated counts under the same conditions give a fair comparison.
Materials
Cost: free. Many items come from home or from waste; spare parts such as LEDs, motors and wire are in the store.
- Two flowering plants of different colours in a garden or a park, for example a yellow marigold and a pink balsam
- A notebook and a pencil
- A phone timer or a watch
- A pre-ruled tally sheet
- A hat and a plastic stool
- A camera (optional)
Safety
For this project: Stay at least a metre away and never touch, catch or disturb the insects, because bees and wasps can sting. Do not do this if you have a bee-sting allergy. Tell an adult where you are and sit quietly.
Never use mains electricity: power models with cells, batteries or a low-voltage adapter. Sharp and hot tools, flames and lab chemicals need an adult or your teacher beside you. Keep magnets, button cells and small parts away from young children, and wash your hands after making.
Step by step
8 steps. Do them in order, and test each part before you go on to the next. Write what you notice in a notebook as you go.
Choose two flower patches of about the same size and mark each with a coloured ribbon.
Design a tally sheet with columns for time, flower colour and visitor type: bee, butterfly, fly, beetle, bird or other.
Sit about two metres away and watch one patch for 10 minutes, ticking each time an animal lands on a flower.
Watch the second patch for 10 minutes straight after, starting with a different patch first the next time.
Repeat at three times of day: early morning, noon and late afternoon, on three or more days.
Note the weather each time, such as sunny, cloudy and the approximate temperature.
Add the tallies into a table and draw bar charts of visits by time of day and by flower colour.
Write a conclusion on which flower and which time had the most visits and what could explain it, without claiming more than your numbers show.
What you should see
Your tally sheets show which flower received more visitors, which time of day was busiest and which type of visitor came most. Bar charts present the comparisons.
Viva questions
A teacher or a judge will ask how it works. Try to answer each question before you open it, then compare.
01What is pollination?
The transfer of pollen from an anther to a stigma.
02Why do flowers have bright colours and scent?
To attract pollinators.
03Why must you watch for equal time on each patch?
So the counts can be compared fairly.
04Why do you not touch the insects?
To avoid stings and not disturb their behaviour.
Take it further
Compare a patch with a nearby building or pesticide-free corner to see whether surrounding conditions change the number of visitors.
Change one thing, measure what happens, and add a table or chart of your readings: that is what turns a model into your own investigation.
Free ebooks for this project
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