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Beetles are attracted to flat, open flowers, which allow them to graze, and flowers in clusters, such as cow parsley.Īpproximately a quarter of the UK's beetles are pollinators - so around 1,000 species. The flowers tend to be smelly or fragrant, because beetles navigate by a strong sense of smell. For others, it is an additional tasty snack, including for some ladybirds that supplement their usual carnivorous diet of aphids with pollen.īeetle-pollinated flowers tend to make extra pollen so there is some left over to be carried to another flower on the beetle's body. For some, such as the aptly named pollen beetles, pollen is their main diet. Many different species of beetles eat pollen. 'Over this time, evolution has perfected the insect-plant relationship and both insects and plants have evolved a great diversity of form and function.' 'Beetles have been pollinating flowers for millions of years, even before the dinosaurs evolved,' says Beulah Garner, the Museum's Senior Curator of Coleoptera (beetles).
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When the female lays her eggs, she picks up some pollen. This leads certain hoverfly species whose young feed on aphids to wrongly believe the plant will offer their predatory brood plenty to eat. The orchid's flower has hairy white tufts that look like an aphid colony covered with honey dew. The orchid Cypripedium subtropicum (which is native to southeast Asia) mimics aphids to lure hoverflies. Some plants use deception to attract pollinators. Based on radar studies of two common European species, Episyrphus balteatus and Eupeodes corollae, up to four billion individuals fly into and out of southern Britain each year, transporting huge amounts of pollen in the process. They can also carry pollen over distances greater than 100 kilometres over open water. Highly migratory, hoverflies can travel hundreds of kilometres a day. They are known to visit at least 72% of global food crops and over 70% of animal-pollinated wildflowers. One study found more than 25 different bee and hoverfly species on apple blossom and showed that insect pollination tripled the production of fruit and boosted its size and quality. In UK orchards, apple trees are pollinated by many different insect species. Crops such as apples need the help of pollinators to make fruit. Pollination is important for the food we eat. This genetic diversity helps plants develop resistance to diseases and pests, and to evolve to changing conditions. Why is pollination important?įlowers need to be fertilised so they can make the seeds, fruit and nuts needed to grow seedlings and spread to new areas.Ĭross-pollinating with another plant of the same species allows for greater diversity in any new plants. One example of this is the hawkmoth whose long tongue feeds from long flowers. Pollinators have also adapted to be able to access nectar from particular flowers. Over time, flowers have evolved shapes, colours and scents that maximise their pollination chances. Flowers and their pollinators are an example of this kind of close relationship. When interacting species live alongside each other for long periods of time, they can influence each other's evolution - this is called coevolution.