Which mammals pollinate plants

Pollution, the misuse of chemicals, disease, and changes in climatic patterns are all contributing to shrinking and shifting pollinator populations. Pollinators need help, but we know how to help them! P2 scientists and research partners that have been studying pollinators for over three decades have been able to show that conservation techniques work. If everyone — home owners, local governments, national governments, and private industry — made the effort we could change the future for pollinators and secure our own.

Adding natural habitat areas into farm systems works. Farms that are closer to natural habitat produce more crop yield [ 9 ] because they attract more pollinators [ 10 ].

Adding habitat to farms systems works too — farms that have turned a potion of their fields into green space have gained back more overall yield [ 11 ]. Home owners can help too! Home gardens can and do attract pollinators [ 12 ], and in many cases suburbs and cities have been shown to have more diverse pollinator communities than nearby wildlands [ 13 , 14 ].

Pollinator gardening near community gardens also increases urban agricultural yields [ 17 ]. The Field Museum. Tickets Membership The Field Museum fuels a journey of discovery across time to enable solutions for a brighter future rich in nature and culture. Anchor: related-content-check-this-out Related content, Check this out.

DIY Plant Pressing. Forest Service, U. Breadcrumb Home Celebrating Wildflowers. Animal Pollination. Learn more about these very important pollinators and the flowers they visit:. Ants Bats Bees Beetles. Other flies that pollinate are some male Bactrocera fruit flies and even adult mosquitos.

They like pale and dull flowers with lots of pollen. Carrion flies pollinate flowers that have a fetid odour, similar to rotting meat, dung, humus, or blood. These flowers are often also purple or red to seem even more like meat. Some of the carrion flies get tricked into laying their eggs on these flowers; their larvae starve due to lack of carrion. Different from bees, many wasps catch prey to feed their larvae instead of pollen, which is why they have stingers.

Wasps need a lot of energy like bees. Wasps from Masarinae , a subfamily of Vespidae , are called pollen wasps because they gather pollen to feed their larvae. Figs are fruit that depend on tiny fig wasps to pollinate them.

Fig flowers lie inside of immature fruit so the wasps need to be small to fit into a tiny hole to lay their eggs and pollinate. Fig wasps pollinate almost 1, different species of figs. Butterflies are not built for pollination, with their slender legs and elevated bodies, but they do transport some pollen as they flit from flower to flower in search of nectar. Butterflies like flowers that contain a lot of nectar. They have good vision and are attracted to flowers that are brightly colored — such as red, orange, and yellow.

They like flowers in clusters, with a landing platform. Moths also pollinate plants, though ones that flower at night. Some moths are specially adapted to certain plants. Yucca plants depend on Yucca moths to pollinate them.