In House Guest - Scientists in Schools -Grade 5A/B

Bzzzz…bzzzz…bzzz…students start screeching because something has just flown into the classroom. Let’s try and get a closer look at the insect and classify it. It turns out it is a bumblebee and not a wasp or hornet. You very carefully direct the bumblebee, an important native pollinator, towards the open door and back into its natural habitat. Pollinators, such as bees and butterflies, are critical to our ecosystems. These animals help to cross-pollinate plants that we depend on for food. It is estimated that pollinators are responsible for one out of three bites of food that people eat. The decline of insect pollinator populations and loss of biodiversity are due to habitat loss, disease, pesticide exposure and climate change. Biodiversity is a term which refers to the variety of life on Earth. Biodiversity is intriguing. It is fascinating to learn about the amazing ways that other species survive on Earth and perpetuate themselves. Biodiversity is also essential to human life on Earth. The number of threats to biodiversity is growing but efforts to stem the tide of biodiversity loss are ongoing.