Insects are the Pollinator Professionals

There were also a good deal of insects around, including beetles, spiders, and centipedes. These ancient insects played a vital role in distributing pollen between the first flowering plants, and as the relationship between plants and insects matured over the years, both sides evolved to better suit the needs of the other. While other animals pollinate, insects are the true pollination professionals. As flowering plants began to thrive, a host of new insect types began to flourish along with them. Bees, flies, wasps, butterflies, beetles, and moths have lived alongside flowering plants for millions of years, and as such, they are highly specialized masters of their art. While bees are normally considered the primary pollinators of the floral world, there are in fact a wide range of creatures that help flowering plants increase their genetic diversity and create seeds through proper pollination.

The first flowers were large, flat, and simple blooms similar to those seen on magnolias. This made them easy targets for clumsy pollen-hungry beetles, which are believed to have been the main pollinators for most ancient angiosperms. Many beetles still pollinate flowers today, although they are far better at eating pollen than spreading it around. While butterflies are a welcome sight in any garden, they are also relatively poor pollinators, as they prefer to sip nectar with their long proboscis while standing far from the flower center. Their stealthy cousins the moths are much more effective at pollination, and moths are believed to be incredibly important at pollinating plants that bloom in cold weather or at night, such as witch hazel. Many butterflies and moths native to the U.S. require specific host plants in order to raise their young and will not stick around in an area without them, so plant native plants whenever possible to attract the most species.

Bees are the most effective pollinators, and there are over 4,000 species of bees native to North America alone. That does not include the honeybee, which was brought here in the 1600s. Bees’ effectiveness comes from the luxurious hairs coating their bodies, which help them gather and hold onto pollen. In fact bees use their hairs to become literal pollen magnets, building up a positive electrical charge as they fly which attracts negatively charged pollen. These hairs are what set bees apart from wasps—bees are basically pacifist wasps that decided to stop hunting, grow their hair out, and start living the gathering lifestyle. Bees gather pollen in order to give their young a reliable protein source, and bees’ constant trips to the blooms in their area while covered in pollen ensure that they pollinate most of the flowers they land on. Wasps generally use hunted prey to feed their young, however adult wasps depend on a diet of nectar for sustenance. By constantly visiting flowers throughout the day, wasps perform a decent amount of pollination as they provide your garden with powerful pest control.

While flies are usually associated with pungent piles, there are actually a wide variety of flies that pollinate the flowers in a landscape. Even though most flies don’t have an abundance of hairs, there are so many flies constantly visiting flowers for a drink of nectar that they are thought to be second only to bees in their overall pollinating power. Some flies are also important garden patrollers as well, such as the hoverfly, which devours aphids in its young form. 

Just as with butterflies and moths, many pollinating insects rely on the plants that they have evolved alongside with in order to perform at their best. Native insect pollinators are also extremely sensitive to pesticides, even herbicides and fungicides which were long believed to be relatively harmless. By planting native plants and reducing the amount of pesticides used, you can take important steps to attract and foster populations of these ancient and important pollinators on your property.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Brannen Basham and his wife, Jill Jacobs, are co-owners of Spriggly’s Beescaping, a nature education business dedicated to increasing environmental awareness through interactive exhibits, workshops, garden installations, and other services. Brannen and Jill will provide regular coverage of pollinators and tips on how to protect them in coming editions of Smoky Mountain Living.