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"The Human Bumblebee"

Who is in charge here? The plants or the bees? Yes, the bees may feel like they are in control, but the flowers are the ones who attracted the bees in the first place. Through natural selection and evolution, flowers have "learned" to manipulate the bees into carrying their pollen from flower to flower, thus allowing them to reproduce.

Taken by Joaquin Gasper

 

The relationship between the bee and the flower is known as "coevolution." This means that "the two parties act on each other to advance their individual interests but wind up trading favors"(Pollan, P.2). The bee gets food, and the flower gets pollinated. Just like this, the potato is harvested by humans because we like its taste. In turn, the potatoes get to be cultivated. This lead to the realization that the plats are acting on us as much as we are acting on them.



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Coevolution can also be seen in the apple because it tastes sweet to us. Also, cannabis also attracts humans because of its intoxication capabilities.  However, before this, flowers developed coevolution as a defense mechanism. Many of them originally had poison to warn other animals to leave them alone. Another reason plants are involved in coevolution is because they cant move themselves. They must rely on others to help them pollinate. Some plants developed burrs to attach to an animals fur. Plant also got us to move them into our gardens or on a farm. This is all part of nature and natural selection. Some people think that because the plants are "domesticated", they are no longer part of nature, but everything is still part of nature. Even when humans create hybrid plants, it should be considered part of natural selection. We can relate this concept to animals. Why do you think there are a lot more dogs than wolves? Its because we have domesticated dogs; therefore, the dogs have become more successful.



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