Around 120 million years ago the plant life on earth changed forever. Previously the planet was dominated by scale forests and sago palm like cycads. However as oxygen levels dropped on the planet and insects got smaller, flowering plants began to evolve along side insects, slowly creating plants that depend on specific pollinators, and increasing overall biodiversity. Now because of this relationship flowering plants are the dominant form of plant life on Earth.
Pollinators, like bees, butterflies, and beetles co-evolved alongside flowering plants so that some insects even have special methods of pollination. Here’s a cool video about bees.
We were very fortunate to have an amazing guest speaker; Carlos, a local beekeeper and founder of a non-profit that educates the public on bees and promotes ecologically healthy gardening.
His group is called The Bee and Me: https://thebeeandme.org/
He came and told us stories from his years of experiences working with bees. He brought a portable beehive and let our students look at the bees up close. He deemed our students official “Keepers of Bees” and even gave everyone some certificates.
Our plants are growing well and I will send everyone an update in the next blog entry.
Houston Arboretum Home School Blog 