From bees to bats and butterflies to beetles, pollinators play a pivotal role in our ecosystem. Bees are among our most important pollinators, with bee populations providing nearly one-third of our food supply and allowing wild plants to produce the foods that form the natural food web base. The iconic monarch butterfly, another impressive pollinator, spreads pollen as it feeds on the nectar of wildflowers while undertaking its stunning 3,000-mile migration from Canada to Mexico and back each year.

Bats are also incredible pollinators, pollinating the fragrant, white, or pale flowers that bloom at night and dispersing the seeds of more than 300 plant species. Can you imagine life without cashews, mangos, carob, dates, figs, papaya, guava, and cloves? These are a few of the many plants which depend on bats for their survival. Bats, hummingbirds, ants, beetles, wasps, butterflies, moths, flies, and even lizards are “busy as bees” each spring and summer pollinating flowers.

Did you know that some of the world’s top pollinators are flies? Long-tongue flies, gnats, and yes, even male mosquitoes! Some male mosquitoes help pollinate rare orchids; the pollen grains actually stick to their eyes as they travel from flower to flower. When they dip their proboscis (mouth tube) into the flower to take a sip of nectar, the pollen grains mix, and pollination takes place.¹

1. PollinatorLIVE! https://pollinatorlive.pwnet.org/teacher/info.php