Summary: This activity is a fun way for students to explore the amazing diversity of bees and wasps. Students are given incomplete pollinator species cards that they must fill out before moving on to the next activity. Using the ScienceLIVE website students can research their species and complete the needed information regarding it's natural history and ecology. Once completed they will use the species cards in an educational game of "Pollinator Bingo".

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Learning Goals:

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What students should know...

• Colorado has thousands of species of bees and wasps, most of which are native.

• Most (70%) native bees and wasps are solitary.  Some nest in holes in wood, hollow plant stems, and in the ground.  And some lay their eggs in other species’ nests.

• The native bee/wasp in a nest can be identified by the material (e.g. leaves, mud, fiber, and tree sap) they use to plug their nesting hold, in order to protect their offspring, in combination with the timing of their nesting and the size of hole they use.

• Bees use pollen and nectar to feed their young.  Wasps use arthropod prey to feed their young (spiders, crickets, aphids, caterpillars). 

• Many native bees/wasps are important pollinators of native and agricultural  plants.

• Native bees/wasps are important to biodiversity and increase the resilience of  local ecosystems.   These bees/wasps play a variety of unique roles in their ecosystems.

Students should be able to...

• Use the ScienceLIVE website to access information on native bees/wasps.

• Discuss generally the existence and diversity and behavior of native bees/wasps and their importance with a friend, family member, or neighbor.

• Compare features of their created bee from the Build a Bee activity with the features of native bees. (Bloom Level 6).

Activity Cards

The activity cards can be printed and used in any of a number of ways.

 

• They can be printed and laminated or placed in plastic sleeves such that they can be reused (erased and written on again). 

• They can be printed and folded in half.

• Or the answer cards could be printed in a smaller format and used as trading cards.

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Downloads:

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* Lesson plans are available in .doc format for easy customization. This lesson includes 4 sections for easy download. Please contact us with any questions or problems.