FAR Research | Pollinators in New Zealand

Estimated Time 45 minutes
Location
Time of Year Summer , Spring & Autumn
Curriculum L3 & L4
Subject Science

Discover a range of New Zealand pollinators in wild areas, in the garden or on the farm.

Learning Intentions

Students will be able to:

appreciate the diversity of insects and birds involved in pollinating New Zealand plants
recognise and name some pollinators
make observations of their foraging behaviours.

Spot flowers that bees love

Use the spotter guide below to identify New Zealand pollinators of flowers. To do this, find a place where there are lots of flowering plants. This could be in a garden, in a wasteland area, a mixed native tree shelterbelt, or the unkept margins of fields.
Try to find as many examples of the pollinators as you can. How do you know that the animals you find are pollinators?
Record what you find by ticking the boxes and recording your observations by writing about them, drawing, or taking photos.

Pollinators in New Zealand spotter pdf download (optimised for colour printing on A4).

Hints and tips

Best viewing of identification pictures is on-screen.
Print the spotter sheet on heavy weight paper. Laminate so students can tick the boxes with felt pen when they find pollinators. Erase with methylated spirits for re-use.
Students can share what they have found by showing others or taking photos. If insects are collected for close-up inspection, ensure they are released within an hour or so.
Students could record observations of: 1) what plants the pollinators are found on, and 2) what they are doing such as: the food they are collecting (nectar or pollen), their movements and other behaviours, and whether or not they store pollen on their bodies for transporting elsewhere.

Related resources

Bumble bee foraging

Garden creature spotter

Moving pollen flower to flower

Honey bee facts

20 June 2025

Broadleaf weed spotting

20 June 2025

Garden creature spotter

20 June 2025

Introduced 'trees for bees' Spotter Guide

20 June 2025

Ladybird/Mumutawa Spotter

20 June 2025

Native 'trees for bees' Spotter Guide