Well, Alejandro, you've got quite an array of things here from insects to flowers, spot on for the topic.

(both chuckling) >>Absolutely, thank you for bringing me here.

So I'd like to talk about how amazing insects are, especially the pollinators.

So I have here a little bit of a show and tell.

You know, we have all the different insects that we can look when we are looking at our gardens and pollinator gardens as well.

Here are the big ones, the showy ones, right?

>>Yes.

>>We have the beetles that can interact with the flowers as well, some of the bees.

And then, to be more specific, since now we're talking about pollinators, we can move to show the actual array of this different, you know, in this case, will be the Hymenopteras, the bees and wasps.

So we have the bees, the native bees, over here.

We have the bumblebees, right?

And then, there's some of the, you know, the wasps, and other wasps as well, they're gonna be going after some of the preys that are actually going around as well.

It's just fascinating how- >>The good guys.

>>The good guys, yes, yes.

So when we have all those caterpillars that are not treating well, these guys are gonna take care of that.

So these are the group of pollinators that we bring for the show and tell.

>>Yes, but flower wise, those pollinators are attracted to the flowers.

>>Yes.

>>And the flowers actually have, I'll say, evolved to attract those pollinators.

>>Yes, actually, that is a really, really, so we also have a show and tell here, so we have a array of flowers and I have a UV light.

And I wanna show everybody how, you know, we'll pretend that we're going to be that pollinator.

>>Bee vision.

>>Exactly, bee vision.

And just trying to go there, navigate it, and trying to find that.

But before doing that, I'm gonna show you, you know, for example, here we have this beautiful hydrangea.

Right?

>>Yes.

>>And a hydrangea that actually offers all the pollen, and pollinators are really, really buzzing around.

>>But it's a white-colored plant.

>>Yes, yeah, so like this one, the pentas are also a white color.

And white color actually attracts not only pollinators, but also predators and beneficials.

Like syrphid flies are really attracted to the white.

There is a vast amount of research showing that syrphid flies are good for aphids and other soft-body insects.

>>Well, hold on, don't put it away yet.

>>Oh, okay.

>>Because I wanna also share that these two plants actually have two different forms of flowers.

>>Yes.

>>So they attract different types of pollinators, because some have, what's called a umbel shape, with this penta here, versus a panicle shape, so that they have a place to stand, 'cause they're not hoverers, you know?

>>Yep.

>>And so different shapes of flowers are equally as important as the color.

>>Absolutely, and the architecture of the plant is also really important.

Sometimes having those flowers being really, really presented in front of the insect actually helps to be more attractive so the insect have easy access to that.

So not only the architecture of the flower, but also the architecture of the plant as well.

>>Super, let's move on, 'cause we wanna get to the good stuff.

>>Yeah, absolutely.

So now we have the beautiful natives, the black-eyed Susans, these guys are amazing.

These guys are the ones that brings all the pollinators.

We've seen not only bees, and bumblebees, and native bees, but also some of the syrphid flies, and some of the other beetles and butterflies as well.

>>Yes, yes.

>>And then, we have marigolds and that type of flowers would also bring some of the pollinators.

But, you know, there is some research about how the good benefits of marigold in terms of pest management, and actually how they can be inter-cropped with other flowers and plants.

>>They become a trap crop.

>>Yes, yes.

>>They trap the bad guys.

>>They could, they could.

And then, also with the flower, they attract the beneficials.

So it's a perfect combo.

>>Absolutely.

>>And it's good.

They're beautiful, they're flowering right now.

So this is a great option if somebody's thinking about putting in a garden.

>>And then, we have more colors.

>>Yes, yes, so we do have some of the, you know, reddish and some of the purple.

And these are the different ones that, you know, we would like and suggest, for the people that are interested, to bring all that diversity of colors, and shapes, and forms for any pollinator garden that you wanted to do.

>>Absolutely.

And now, because these flowers actually have some special attributes for bees.

>>Yes, so the idea is that now bees and other insects can cue on a specific UV light that is reflected from the flowers.

It's like having a bullseye.

And then, you're gonna travel and navigate to, and go to the good stuff, which are the pollen.

>>Well, let's show everybody.

So let's bring the lights down and we can show everybody just how cool this is.

And we've never done this before, so we're very excited.

So you've got a UV light?

>>Yes, so we're pretending that we're navigating the landscape in the system.

And then, all of a sudden, we have this- >>Look at that.

>>Look at how they pop that center.

And then, the pedals good, the contrast.

That's the great idea.

So that's when the vision comes into play, the insects are looking for the good stuff, the treasure, they go after that, right?

>>Yes.

And the sparkle is part of the flower.

>>Yes, some of them will have the sparkle, some of them will have some sort of, what we call, the guides that will actually- >>Right, the nectar guide.

>>It's like having an airport.

>>Yes.

>>If you speak, right?

>>Yeah.

>>And then, we have here the purple one that also is similar to that.

>>The cosmos, yes.

>>Exactly, the cosmos.

Cosmos' are amazing, great for the pollinators as well.

So you can see how, you know, using this UV light is kind of pretending how the- >>The bee.

>>The pollinator, the bee, and some other insect can see that.

>>And you could see how those spots are just drawing them down into the center where the nectar is.

>>Exactly, exactly.

Again, it's a bullseye.

>>It's a treasure map.

>>It's a bullseye effect, right?

>>Yes.

>>And all of that, so that is really amazing.

>>Well, Alejandro, this is so exciting, because when we look at flowers, we just think of colors and such.

We need to start thinking of shapes.

>>Absolutely.

>>We need to start thinking of colors, but we also need to start thinking about the UV ones that the bees look into.

>>Yeah, that will be the add on.

So now it's a good topic that everybody is aware, so the flowers are co-evolved with the pollinators.

And showing all these different resources, including those UV marks that are really, really great to make sure that they're gonna get a pollinator, and that's the beauty.

>>Well, you know, I think people are gonna go out and look at their gardens differently.

I encourage people to take an inventory.

>>Absolutely, absolutely, absolutely.

>>And to fill in the blanks.

>>Absolutely, absolutely.

>>This has been fun.

>>Oh, thank you, yeah.

>>Thank you.