Soybean and Bees

dynamics, and the flux of ions are fundamental features accepted as crucial, but whose role
has not yet been completely elucidated (Mascarenhas; Machlis, 1964; Robinson, 1985;
Chebli; Geitmann, 2007; Okuda; Higashiyama, 2010).
Pollination
Pollination is the process of transferring the pollen from the stamen to the pistil of plants,
a parallel to the sexual conjunction in animals. In general, flowers can be divided between
three broad groups of pollination methods:
Entomophilous: flowers attract insects, sometimes other animals like bats or birds to transfer
pollen to the pistil of the same flower or to another one. Often they are specialized in
shape and have an arrangement of the stamens that ensures that pollen grains are transferred
to the bodies of the pollinator when it lands in search of its attractant (such as nectar,
pollen, or a mate). In pursuing this attractant from many flowers of the same species, the
pollinator transfers pollen to the stigmas—arranged with equally sharp precision—of all the
flowers it visits. Many flowers rely on simple proximity between flower parts to ensure pollination.
Others have elaborate designs to ensure cross-pollination and avoid self-pollination.
Anemophilous: flowers use the wind to move pollen from one flower to the next, sometimes
from male to female structures on the same flower. In this case, they have no need
to attract pollinators and therefore tend not to have large blossoms. Whereas the pollen of
entomophilous flowers tends to be large-grained, sticky, and rich in protein (a “reward” for
pollinators), anemophilous flower pollen is usually small-grained, very light, and of little
nutritional value to insects, though it may still be gathered in times of dearth of more suitable
food. Surprisingly, honeybees and other bees actively gather anemophilous corn pollen,
though it is of little value to them.
Self-pollinated: In some plants, like soybeans, flowers are self-pollinated before the flowers
open. In other plants, flowers never open even after being self-pollinated. These two types of
flowers are called cleistogamous.
The anatomy and design of a flower will dictate how pollination will function to successfully
produce seeds. Some plants are self-pollinated, because they have perfect flowers with the
stamens and pistils developing in perfect synchrony. In this case, the anther efficiently sheds
pollen onto the stigma, as they mature at the same time. This is considered the case of soybeans
and other species of the family (Fabaceae), as shown on Figure 9.
34 SoybeAn and bees