Insects Bees '' sp. bee pollinating flowers The most recognized pollinators are the various species of
bees, which are plainly adapted to pollination. Bees typically are fuzzy and carry an
electrostatic charge. Both features help pollen grains adhere to their bodies, but they also have specialized pollen-carrying structures; in most bees, this takes the form of a structure known as the
scopa, which is on the hind legs of most bees, and/or the lower abdomen (e.g., of
megachilid bees), made up of thick, plumose
setae.
Honey bees,
bumblebees, and their relatives do not have a scopa, but the hind leg is modified into a structure called the corbicula (also known as the "
pollen basket"). Most bees gather
nectar, a concentrated energy source, and pollen, which is high
protein food, to nurture their young, and transfer some among the flowers as they are working.
Euglossine bees pollinate orchids, but these are male bees collecting floral scents rather than females gathering nectar or pollen. Female orchid bees act as pollinators, but of flowers other than orchids.
Eusocial bees such as honey bees need an abundant and steady
pollen source to multiply. pollinating a plum tree. Bees are the most effective insect pollinators. Honey bees travel from flower to flower, collecting nectar (later converted to
honey), and pollen grains. The bee collects the pollen by rubbing against the anthers. The pollen collects on the hind legs, in a structure referred to as a "pollen basket". As the bee flies from flower to flower, some of the pollen grains are transferred onto the stigma of other flowers. Nectar provides the energy for bee
nutrition; pollen provides the
protein. When bees are rearing large quantities of
brood (beekeepers say hives are "building"), bees deliberately gather pollen to meet the nutritional needs of the brood. Good pollination management seeks to have bees in a "building" state during the bloom period of the crop, thus requiring them to gather pollen, and making them more efficient pollinators. Thus, the management techniques of a
beekeeper providing pollination services are different from, and to some extent in tension with, those of a beekeeper who is trying to produce honey. Millions of
hives of honey bees are
contracted out as pollinators by
beekeepers, and honey bees are by far the most important commercial pollinating agents, but many other kinds of pollinators, from blue bottle flies, to bumblebees,
orchard mason bees, and
leaf cutter bees are cultured and sold for
managed pollination. Other species of bees differ in various details of their behavior and pollen-gathering habits, and honey bees are not native to the
Western Hemisphere; all pollination of native plants in the Americas and Australia historically has been performed by various native bees. It has also been found that non-native plants may have positive effects on native bee pollinators while also influencing their foraging patterns and bee–plant networks.
Butterflies and moths feeding on nectar
Lepidoptera (
butterflies and
moths) may also pollinate to various degrees. They are not major pollinators of
food crops, but various moths are important pollinators of other commercial crops such as
tobacco. Pollination by certain moths may be important, however, or even crucial, for some wildflowers mutually adapted to specialist pollinators. Spectacular examples include orchids such as
Angraecum sesquipedale, dependent on a particular
hawk moth,
Morgan's sphinx.
Yucca species provide other examples, being fertilised in elaborate ecological interactions with particular species of
yucca moths.
Flies Many
bee flies, and some
Tabanidae and
Nemestrinidae are particularly adapted to pollinating
fynbos and
Karoo plants with narrow, deep
corolla tubes, such as
Lapeirousia species. Part of the adaptation takes the form of remarkably long probosces. This also applies to empidine dance flies (
Empidinae) that visit a wide range of flowering plants, some species of which can pollinate the
woodland geranium (
Geranium sylvaticum L.) as effectively as
bees. fly on a
thistle flower Carrion flies and flesh flies in families such as
Calliphoridae and
Sarcophagidae are important for some species of plants whose flowers
exude a fetid odor. The plants' ecological strategy varies; several species of
Stapelia, for example, attract carrion flies that futilely lay their eggs on the flower, where their larvae promptly starve for lack of
carrion. Other species do decay rapidly after ripening, and offer the visiting insects large masses of food, as well as pollen and sometimes seed to carry off when they leave.
Hoverflies are important pollinators of flowering plants worldwide. Often hoverflies are considered to be the second most important pollinators after wild bees. Another plant, the
slipper orchid in southwest China, also achieves pollination by deceit by exploiting the
innate yellow colour preference of syrphids. Some male
dacine fruit flies are exclusive pollinators of some wild
Bulbophyllum orchids that lack nectar and have a specific chemical attractant and reward (methyl eugenol, raspberry ketone or zingerone) present in their floral fragrances. Some flies, especially
Anthomyiidae,
Empididae and
Muscidae, may be the main pollinators at higher elevations of mountains, whereas
bumblebee species are typically the only other pollinators in alpine regions at timberline and beyond. Some adult
mosquitoes, if they feed on nectar, may act as pollinators;
Aedes communis, a species found in North America, is known to pollinate
Platanthera obtusata, commonly referred as the blunt-leaved orchid. Biting midges (
Ceratopogonidae) pollinate
Theobroma cacao (Malvaceae), whose flowers have pollen inaccessible to larger pollinators.
Other insects (
Scolia chrysotricha) foraging Many insects other than bees accomplish pollination by visiting flowers for nectar or pollen, or commonly both. Many do so adventitiously, but the most important pollinators are specialists for at least parts of their life cycles for at least certain functions. Prominent among Hymenoptera other than bees are wasps, especially
Crabronidae,
Chrysididae,
Ichneumonidae,
Sphecidae and
Vespidae. Some wasps are comparable to or even superior to some bees as pollinators. and pointleaf manzanita,
Arctostaphylos pungens (
Ericaceae).
Ants also pollinate some kinds of flowers, but for the most part they are parasites, consuming nectar and/or pollen without conveying useful amounts of pollen to a stigma. Other insect orders are rarely pollinators, and then typically only incidentally (e.g.,
Hemiptera such as
Anthocoridae and
Miridae). A strategy of great biological interest is that of sexual deception, where plants, generally
orchids, produce remarkably complex combinations of pheromonal attractants and physical mimicry that induce male
bees or
wasps to attempt to mate with them, conveying
pollinia in the process. Examples are known from all continents apart from
Antarctica, though Australia appears to be exceptionally rich in examples. Whole groups of plants, such as certain
fynbos Moraea and
Erica species produce flowers on sticky
peduncles or with sticky
corolla tubes that only permit access to flying pollinators, whether bird, bat, or insect.
Other invertebrates Experimental evidence has shown invertebrates (mostly small
crustaceans Later,
Idotea balthica was discovered to help
Gracilaria gracilis reproduce – the first known case of an animal helping
algae reproduce.
Vertebrates '' are
bat-pollinated. with pollen on bill,
Curi Cancha Wildlife Refuge, Costa Rica
Bats are important pollinators of some tropical flowers, visiting to take nectar. Birds, particularly
hummingbirds,
honeyeaters and
sunbirds also accomplish much pollination, especially of deep-throated flowers. Other
vertebrates, such as
kinkajous,
monkeys,
lemurs,
possums,
rodents,
lizards, and
canids have been recorded pollinating some plants. Humans can be pollinators, as many
gardeners have discovered that they must
hand pollinate garden
vegetables, whether because of
pollinator decline or simply to keep a strain genetically pure. This can involve using a small brush or
cotton swab to move pollen, or to simply tap or shake
tomato blossoms to release the pollen for the
self-pollinating flowers. Tomato blossoms are self-fertile, but (with the exception of potato-leaf varieties) have the pollen inside the
anther, and the flower requires shaking to release the pollen through
pores. This can be done by wind, by humans, or by a
sonicating bee (one that vibrates its wing muscles while perched on the flower), such as a bumblebee. Sonicating bees are extremely efficient pollinators of tomatoes, and colonies of bumblebees are quickly replacing humans as the primary pollinators for
greenhouse tomatoes. == Floral and non-floral resources ==