Plant-Insect Relationships Through Time

Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History

Introduction

National Middle School Science Standards

Life Science, Earth Science

Key Terms

plants, insects, coevolution, pollination, herbivory, fossil

Key Concepts

Types of plant-insect relationships
Importance of plant-insect relationships
Coevolution of plant-insect relationships
Fossil evidence of coevolution
Technology used by paleoecologists

Resource Types

Videos and Webcasts

Fossil Forensics - Plant and Insect Relationships with Paleobiologist Conrad Labandeira on Smithsonian Science How
The Eocene Messel Deposit: Bee Pollination Strategies, Zombie Ants and Food Webs Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History (NMNH) on YouTube
Before Flowering Plants NMNH on YouTube
The Secret Life of Orchids – Part II: Pollinators Smithsonian Insider

Printable Lessons

Plants and Animals: Partners in Pollination Smithsonian Education (PDF)
Flowers Seeking Pollinators California Academy of Science

Online Activities

Featured Collection: Fossil Leaves and Evidence of Insect Damage

Science Literacy Resources

Middle School Level

Bee Tongues Are Getting Shorter as Temperatures Warm Smithsonian Magazine

High School Level

First Ever Record of Insect Pollination Captured in 100 Million-Year-Old Amber Smithsonian Insider
Smithsonian Scientists Use DNA to More Quickly Unravel the Relationship between Plants and Insects Smithsonian Newsdesk
Beetle and Pollen Trapped in 105 Million-Year-Old Amber Reveal Fourth Major Pollination Mode in Mid-Mesozoic Smithsonian Insider
From the Field: Hunting Cretaceous Plants (9/9/2016) Digging the Fossil Record: Paleobiology at the Smithsonian

Advanced Reading Level

Drawing Conclusions from Fossil Insects (5/9/2013) Digging the Fossil Record: Paleobiology at the Smithsonian
Collections Highlights: Insect Trove #3 Digging the Fossil Record: Paleobiology at the Smithsonian
Smithsonian Scientists Discover Butterfly-Like Fossil Insect in the Deep Mesozoic Smithsonian Newsdesk
Hangingfly Mimicked Ginkgo-like Leaf in China’s Jurassic Period Smithsonian Newsdesk
Prehistoric Pollination: Sawfly Mouthparts Fit Tubular Channels of Gymnosperm Cones Smithsonian Insider

Subject Guides

Botany & Horticulture Subject Guide Smithsonian Libraries
Entomology Subject Guide Smithsonian Libraries

Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)

The Plant-Insect Relationships Through Time teaching resources support students in meeting the following middle school NGSS Performance Expectations.

Life Science

MS-LS1 From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes

MS-LS1-4 Use argument based on empirical evidence and scientific reasoning to support an explanation for how characteristic animal behaviors and specialized plant structures affect the probability of successful reproduction of animals and plants respectively.

MS-LS2 Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics

MS-LS2-2 Construct an explanation that predicts patterns of interactions among organisms across multiple ecosystems.

MS-LS4 Biological Evolution: Unity and Diversity

MS-LS4-1 Analyze and interpret data for patterns in the fossil record that document the existence, diversity, extinction, and change of life forms throughout the history of life on Earth under the assumption that natural laws operate today as in the past.
MS-LS4-2 Apply scientific ideas to construct an explanation for the anatomical similarities and differences among modern organisms and between modern and fossil organisms to infer evolutionary relationships.

Earth Science

MS-ESS1 Earth's Place in the Universe

MS-ESS1-4 Construct a scientific explanation based on evidence from rock strata for how the geologic time scale is used to organize Earth's 4.6-billion-year-old history.

Resource Type