Biology of Insects and Pollination

Butterflies belong to class Lepidoptera and they have siphoning mouthparts. 

In Apis spp (Honeybees), male genitals explode or snap off inside females after mating. The snapped-off penis acts as a genital plug to prevent other drones from fertilising the queen.

Honey bees have special structures called pollen baskets (corbiculae) in which they carry pollen back to the hive.

Honey is prepared by the honey bees. When a honey bee sits on a flower, it sucks the nectar of the flower and converts it to honey. 

Zoophily is a pollination in which pollens are distributed by animals.

 Reason: The place where bees are reared for commercial honey production is called apiary. It is a bee farm where beehives of honey bees are kept and bees are reared for obtaining honey from them. Hive is an enclosed structure in which honey bees live and raise their young ones. Natural beehives are simply nests, while man-made hives are found in apiaries. Aviary (avia - bird, ary - place to live) is a large enclosure where birds are confined. Unlike cages, aviaries allow birds a larger living space where they can fly. Orchard is a large garden where trees are grown for food production. Here, fruit- or nut-producing trees are grown on commercial scale.

 Reason: Trait is a characteristic of an organism. The Italian bees have the following traits:

·           They have high honey collection capacity.

·           They sting less as compared to other bee species.

·           They stay in a beehive for long periods of time.

·           They breed very well as compared to other bee species.

Bees suck the nectar of plants.

From the atrium of each abdominal spiracle, three tracheal tubes arise. The three tracheal tubes are as follows: 

A. Dorsal tracheal tube B. Ventral tracheal tube C. Lateral tracheal tube

Each spiracle is surrounded by a ring-like sclerite called peritreme.

In honeybees, workers will undergo thelytoky in the absence of a queen. 

Phenomenon of heterogony or cyclic parthenogenesis is seen in aphids. 

A brightly coloured and scent bearing flower will be pollinated by insects.

The landing of pollen grains of one flower to the stigma of another flower of the same plant or different plant of the same kind is known as cross pollination.

Male gametes need to approach the female gamete in order to fertilise it. This transfer of male gamete to female gamete is known as pollination. The agents of pollination are known as pollinators. For example, wind, water and insects. Minerals and soil play no role in pollination.