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Pollination and Seed Dispersal

Worksheet
1. Did you know that there are more than 400,000 types of flowering plants in the world? Think of
your favorite kind of flower. Why do you think flowers are so colorful? Why do you think many
of them smell nice?

2. Plants cannot move around, so they need to attract animals to help them. Animals help plants
reproduce by moving pollen. Pollination is the movement of pollen from the male part of a
flower to the female part of the same kind of flower. Look at the yucca plant. Why do you think
insects are flying around the white flowers?

3. Insects and other animals are attracted to flowers. The color and smell of the petals attracts
them. When they visit flowers to drink nectar or eat pollen, they move the pollen. Dissect the
petals. Notice the different parts of the flower.

4. The male part of this flower is yellow and holds the pollen. Pollen is very sticky. The female part
of this flower is green. Sometimes pollen moves from the male part to the female part of the
same flower. How do you think animals move pollen?

5. Move the pollen (white circle) from the male part of the first flower to the female part of the
second flower.

6. Sometimes pollen from one flower is taken to another flower by animals. Ladybugs eat insects
that live on plants. This ladybug is attracted to this flower. The pollen (white circle) sticks to the
ladybug when it visits the flower.

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7. When the ladybug visits the next flower, the pollen lands on the female part of the flower.
Pollination happens with help from the ladybug. Many farmers also depend on ladybugs to eat
insects that harm their crops. Which part of the ladybug’s body is moving the pollen?

8. Pollinating insects or birds must rub or touch the pollen so it sticks to them. Look at this bee.
The bee enters the flower to get a super-rich food called nectar. Some of the pollen may fall off
the flower and stick to the bee. Next, the bee flies to another flower, where the pollen falls off
its body and sticks to the middle of the new flower. Take a closer look at how the bee carries
pollen.

9. Here is a bird that loves nectar. It is a hummingbird! It flies from flower to flower, drinking
nectar from each one. Move the hummingbird from the first flower to the second flower.
Describe how the shape of the flower and the shape of the hummingbird’s beak make it easy for
the hummingbird to move pollen as it drinks the nectar.

10. Some bats eat cactus fruit and drink nectar from cactus flowers. When they reach in to drink,
their fuzzy heads become covered in pollen. Why is the bat’s fuzzy head important for
pollination?

11. Animals that move pollen are called pollinators. Write about one pollinator. Which body part
does it use to collect pollen? Now place each pollinator on a flower and take a photo.

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12. Plants also depend on animals to spread their seeds. When animals move seeds from one place
to another, this is called seed dispersal. After the animals eat the fruit from a plant, the seeds
are left behind or even passed through when the animals get rid of waste. Why do you think
plants have colorful or tasty fruit?

13. Some animals spread seeds by hiding or burying them. Squirrels have pouches in their cheeks
for collecting acorns. They bury acorns and then forget where they put them! Buried acorns
have a chance to grow into oak trees. Have you ever seen a squirrel with an acorn in its mouth?
The squirrel and the tree have a special relationship. Explain how the squirrel and the oak tree
help each other.

14. Some animals spread and disperse seeds without even knowing it. Seeds that stick to the fur or
feathers of animals catch a ride to a new place. They may even grow into a new plant. Cocklebur
plants produce hundreds of seeds with stiff, hooked spines. What do you think would happen if
one of these dogs ran through a field of cocklebur plants?

15. Create a scene to show how these animals help plants disperse their seeds. You may resize the
models to create your scene. Take a photo.

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16. Pollination and seed dispersal are important for plant reproduction. Since plants cannot move
around, they depend on animals to help them. Choose one model to illustrate pollination or
seed dispersal. Using the model, describe how the animal moves the pollen or seeds to help the
plant reproduce.