Pollination is the process of transporting pollen used in the reproduction of a majority of flowering plants. This is one of many services offered by nature that promotes biodiversity. More than 100,000 species of insects, birds and mammals contribute to it.
Pollination is the act of impregnating flowering plants by carrying pollen from the stamens to the pistil, preferably between two different flowers. Pollination is an essential service of the ecosystem. Without pollination, the variety and abundance of food would be very limited. In addition, all the services rendered by pollinated plants would also be compromised such as the formation and fertilisation of soils.
There are two major types of pollinating vectors: wind, which is involved in the pollination of 20% of the flowering plants and animals, mainly insects, which pollinate 80% of the flowering plants. Plants pollinated by wind are for example grasses (grass, grains, maize, etc.), conifers (fir, spruce, etc.) and some trees (walnut, birch, etc.). Their flowers are usually very small and without petals.
Pollination by insects
Many insect species are deemed pollinators: several species of bees naturally, but also some species of butterflies and some beetles. However, it is not always easy to determine whether an insect resting on a flower will play a role in pollination. There is a difference between floriculture insects and pollinating insects. All insects that frequent flowers to feed on nectar and/or pollen are called floriculture insects. By going from one flower to another, some of these insects unintentionally carry pollen and thereby contribute to pollination. This is true of some ants and even some flies. Insects, especially bees, are much more efficient pollinators than wind because they directly carry pollen from one flower to another.
Other pollinators
In some parts of the world, other animals can also behave as pollinators, such as birds (hummingbirds, for example), bats, small rodents, marsupials or lizards.
Plants pollinated by insects or other animals are camouflaged to attract these pollinators. Nectar is a mixture of water and sugar whose sole function seems to be to feed and thus build insect loyalty. It is this nectar that honey bees convert into honey. The smell of flowers pollinated during the day tends to be weaker than the flowers pollinated at night, mostly by bats and moths.