Pollinators: How they work

Biology

The effectiveness of different insect visitors to flowers as pollinators depends on their ability to carry pollen. Bees, for example, are well equipped to carry pollen with hairs to which pollen adheres, as well as pollen ‘baskets’ or scopae, a polished and hair-fringed cavity on both rear legs which serve as receptacles to carry pollen. Generally, ‘hairy’ insects are better pollinators than hairless insects. The majority of flower-visiting insects are generalists in that they visit many species of plants for the rewards offered. Many species of insects visit flowers, not just ‘traditional’ pollinators like bees and wasps. Other beneficial insects like predators and parasitoids of other insects are attracted to flowers, when not hunting prey, by the lure of sweet nectar. Every insect that is attracted to flowers and feeds on nectar or pollen is a potential pollinator. However, there are four major groups of highly-effective pollinating insects: bees and wasps, flies, butterflies and moths and beetles. Other insect groups like true bugs, lacewings and thrips, have been less studied as pollinators but also play a lesser but important pollination role. Bees are the most important group of pollinators because of their deliberation in gathering pollen and visiting a single type of flower for periods at a time, maximizing pollination potential. In contrast, flies, butterflies, moths, wasps and beetles usually visit flowers for nectar only thus they brush up against pollen less frequently than bees do.

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