By Marie-Lyne Pelletier, Biologist M. Sc.
Pollinators play an essential role in our environment and in allowing us to eat fruits and vegetables that require their work. Nearly 80% of flowering plants need pollinators for their reproduction and 35% of crops are enhanced by this service they provide in the field. But do you know the different insects that accomplish this important task?
Naturally, the first ones that come to mind are domestic bees. Very present in our agricultural environments, they are widely used in pollination. Their strength is the impressive number of individuals per hive that can reach more than 60,000 bees in the middle of summer. Another advantage is that they can travel great distances, 3 to 5 km from the hive.
Another pollinator that we recognize well is the bumblebee. In Quebec, there are about twenty species of bumblebees. It is a tireless worker and can go out to forage at colder temperatures than the domestic bee. The queen bumblebee will choose to establish her nest very often underground in cavities or old rodent holes and it will be made up of wax cells resembling small pots. Bumblebees are friendly and will not sting unless their nest or safety is in danger.
Leafcutter bees are a solitary species of native bees that can be observed foraging on flowers and helping with pollination. The Leafcutter bee has a small brush under its belly that is covered in hairs. This is where it puts the pollen it has collected and it turns yellow at the end of its working day. It has the particularity of cutting the edges of leaves and transporting the pieces for the construction of small cells where it will lay its eggs, which will then develop into larvae and then nymphs. Like the bumblebee and the honeybee, they are not aggressive and are valuable allies for pollination.
Among the native bees, we find the very cute halictidae. They measure only 4 to 11 mm and they are generally black or brown in color, sometimes with a green metallic tint. They are bees that have a short tongue and they feed mainly on pollen and sap. They also collect pollen as food for their larvae and thus participate in the pollination of plants. They nest in holes in the ground.
Wasps are black and yellow insects, with a thin waist and very little hair compared to the honeybee and the bumblebee. The colony is made up of the queen, the workers and the males. In the spring, the queen will choose a place near a tree whose chewed and saliva-soaked wood will be used to build her nest. Although the worker wasps are carnivorous and feed the larvae with various chewed insects and other animal proteins, they themselves feed on flower nectar (thus participating in pollination) and sugary substances. The wasps have a stinger that they do not lose and can therefore sting several times.
There are also hoverflies that are part of the order Diptera. They look like wasps and bees, but they are actually flies. The hoverfly begins its larval stage as a maggot and will later become an adult insect with wings, a single pair like all Diptera. These are insects that feed on flower nectar and sap. As they are covered in hairs, hoverflies help a lot in the pollination of plants and are therefore part of the useful insects in the garden. Another particularity is that they have the ability to fly by hovering.
Bee flies are also small dipterans that feed on pollen and nectar using a long proboscis that resembles a stinger. The abdomen of the bee fly is often covered in hairs and resembles yellow or red fur. This insect has a fast flight and they frequently feed by hovering over flowers, like a hummingbird.
The butterflies
These insects are divided into two groups: butterflies that are active during the day, the diurnal ones, and those that are active at night, the nocturnal ones. Diurnal butterflies have a limited role in pollination. But for butterflies that are active at night, they have a greater impact. Many plants that only flower at night depend almost exclusively on nocturnal butterflies for their pollination. Due to their downy bodies, moths are very efficient in carrying pollen from flowers.
Here is an overview of the main pollinators. To help these precious allies, it is important to plant flowers, participate in the Dandelion Challenge and avoid using pesticides. We owe them this to thank them for their essential service to our food.
