Most plants need help moving pollen from one
flower to the pistil of another. Wind moves the pollen for some plants
such as grasses like corn. Animal pollinator's move pollen for many other
flowering plants.
Pollinator - An
animal that moves pollen from the anthers to the stigmas of flowers, thus
effecting pollination. Animals that are known to be good pollinator's of
flowers include bees, butterflies, hummingbirds, moths, some flies, some wasps,
and nectar feeding bats.
What are the benefits?
Plants benefit from pollinator's because the movement of pollen allows them to reproduce by setting seeds. However, pollinator's don't know or care that the
plant benefits. They pollinate to get nectar and/or pollen from
flowers to meet their energy requirements and to produce offspring.
In the economy of nature, the pollinator's provide an important service to
flowering plants, while the plants pay with food for the pollinator's and
their offspring.
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