Busy Pollinators

One beautiful spring day, Polly Peach tree and Annie Apple tree notice something wrong at Honeysuckle Farm. They haven’t seen the Bee family in a very long time.

A month ago, a big storm blew over many trees including an old oak tree at the edge of the forest where the bee family lived. The bees had to find another home because their honeycomb was destroyed.

Polly Peach tree remembers the times bees landed on her: it tickled as the bees walked around in the sticky pollen in the center of her blossoms, drinking the nectar. The bees would leave with some of the pollen stuck to their fuzzy legs and heads.

The tree liked those visits, even though the bees never stayed to chat. They were always so busy, buzzing from blossom to blossom and tree to tree.

Polly wasn't sure what else bees did, but every spring, there they were, sipping nectar and buzzing and getting pollen stuck on their legs!

Shortly after the bees' visits, Polly's blossoms would fall off and peaches would start to grow; but there have been no bees this spring. Polly asks Annie if bees have anything to do with growing peaches and apples.

Annie explains that bees travel from one peach to tree another, or one apple tree to another, gathering nectar and pollen. Without the bees, the fruit trees cannot grow any fruit. That is why it's such a problem if there are no bees around.

Robin Redbreast overhears the trees talking and knows that something must be done. She calls all the birds together and explains that without the bees there will be no fruit this year. The birds will have little to eat. They must do something to help the trees.

The birds fly far and wide. Finally, they come to a valley where they rest in the branches of a stately maple tree.

The birds notice that the bees are all abuzz. Someone is getting ready to cut down an orchard and the bees will no longer have fruit blossoms to give them nectar and pollen. Robin Redbreast tells Queen Bee about the problem at Honeysuckle Farm and asks if the bees will make a home there.

The Queen Bee agrees, and the whole colony follows the birds back to Honeysuckle Farm. The bees make a new home and get busy pollinating Polly Peach tree and Annie Apple tree and all the other fruit trees.