Nature on our Doorsteps: The world before bees evolved
Magnolia's lovely flowers bloom before its leaves emerge on the branches

Nature on our Doorsteps: The world before bees evolved

Rosaleen Dwyer is the County Heritage Officer at South Dublin County Council – every week she gives us an insight into nature on our doorsteps and the beautiful biodiversity of its plants and wildlife.

BEES evolved on earth after the first flowering plants appeared.

Up until then, the tall forests of the world were full of conifer trees, giant horsetail plants, and very large tree ferns.

These plants did not produce flowers, but they relied instead on the wind to spread their pollen and spores far and wide.

It is suggested that the very first flowering plants evolved approximately 140 million years ago.

This was the time when dinosaurs roamed the world and when primitive insects like enormous dragonflies and the early ancestors of beetles and butterflies were evolving.

Trees which evolved before the bees, like the conifers, relied on the wind for pollination

The first flowers to evolve were simple, open structures which allowed the large insects to land and crawl all over them in search of nutritious pollen.

One of the earliest known identifiable flowering plants in the fossil record is the Magnolia.

These fossils date to 95 million years ago. Magnolia still grows in many parts of the world today, and it occurs as either big spreading trees or as smaller compact bushes or shrubs.

Because they had evolved before bees existed, Magnolia’s loose and open flowers did not need to produce nectar to attract these insects.

Instead, they were pollinated by an early form of beetle which came to eat the flower’s pollen.

These beetles simply crawled around the open flower, using its biting mouthparts to nibble at everything along the way.

The Magnolia flower therefore had to be tough and leathery to avoid damage, especially to the male and female parts which had to produce pollen and seeds.

Later, when bees and other pollinating insect types involved, pollination became much more efficient and specialised.

Flowers also continued to evolve in association with the insects, and this led to the wide variety of flower types, colours, and sizes that we see today.

Magnolia is currently coming into flower in gardens and parks, and some varieties will continue to flower into June or July.

TAGS
Share This