Pollen: Darwin's 130 Year Prediction (Moments in Science)
by Darcy Pattison (Author)
How long does it take for science to find an answer to a problem?
On January 25, 1862, naturalist Charles Darwin received a box of orchids. One flower, the Madagascar star orchid, fascinated him. It had an 11.5" nectary, the place where flowers make nectar, the sweet liquid that insects and birds eat. How, he wondered, did insects pollinate the orchid? It took 130 years to find the answer.
After experiments, he made a prediction. There must be a giant moth with a 11.5" proboscis, a straw-like tongue. Darwin died without ever seeing the moth, which was catalogued by entomologists in in 1903. But still no one had actually observed the moth pollinating the orchid.
In 1992, German entomologist, Lutz Thilo Wasserthal, Ph.D. traveled to Madagascar. By then, the moths were rare. He managed to capture two moths and released them in a cage with the orchid. He captured the first photo of the moth pollinating the flower, as Darwin had predicted 130 years before.
Backmatter includes information on the moth, the orchid, Charl
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Kirkus Reviews
Publishers Weekly
Pattison offers an inviting story about Charles Darwin, told visually through Willis's playfully designed paper collage. In 1862, Darwin--rendered as a grandfatherly figure with a bushy beard and eyebrows--is perplexed by the star orchid from Madagascar: "He wondered how an insect could drink its nectar. The nectary was too long and narrow for an insect to crawl into." After experimenting with needles and brushes to attempt picking up pollen, Darwin hypothesizes that the star orchid must be pollinated by a moth with an 11-inch proboscis--one that lives with the orchid in Madagascar. Darwin died before he could find such a moth, but future entomologists continued Darwin's quest, 130 years later witnessing a Madagascar hawk moth pollinating a star orchid. The creators offer a gratifying narrative arc while presenting an important truth about science: "Progress in science needs predictions, observations over a long period of time, and sometimes, a bit of luck." Ages 6-9. (BookLife)
Copyright 2019 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.Review quotes
"POLLEN is extraordinary! What a great story that encapsulates so many important concepts in science - pollination, structure and function of living things, and how scientific discoveries take time. It is so well written and will make a wonderful read-aloud." Emily Morgan, co-author of Picture Perfect Science
JNF003120 - Juvenile Nonfiction | Animals | Insects, Spiders, etc.
JNF051190 - Juvenile Nonfiction | Science & Nature | History of Science
JNF051170 - Juvenile Nonfiction | Science & Nature | Discoveries
JNF037030 - Juvenile Nonfiction | Science & Nature | Flowers & Plants
Research
Darwin, Charles
Discoveries in science
Evolution
Moths
Pollinators
Pollination by insects
Orchids
Pollen
Sphingidae
