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Home > News & Articles > Entomophily or Insect Pollination: Definitions, Examples, History, Etymology, Taxonomic Diversity, Advantages, and Disadvantages
Updated on 01st June, 2023 , 5 min read
Entomophily, sometimes known as insect pollination, is a type of pollination in which insects spread pollen from plants, primarily but not exclusively blooming plants. Flowers that are pollinated by insects often draw attention to themselves with vivid colors and sometimes noticeable patterns (honeyguides) that lead to rewards of pollen and nectar. They may also have a seductive aroma that occasionally resembles the pheromones of insects. Insect pollinators like bees have evolved to include pollen baskets on their hind legs in some species and lapping or sucking mouthparts to consume nectar. Developing insect pollination behaviors and flower pollination processes that benefited both groups required the coevolution of insects and blooming plants. Pollination and subsequent reproductive success are known to be impacted by a population's size and density.
Pollination is the process of moving pollen grains from a flower's male anther to its female stigma in order to produce offspring for the following generation in a living thing that contains plants. There are several ways that plants can produce offspring, including by producing seeds.
Entomophily, often known as insect pollination, is a kind of pollination in which insects spread pollen from plants, mostly but not exclusively those that are in bloom. Entomophily is the term for insect pollination, and an entomophilous bloom is one that is pollinated by insects. The process ofpollinating a flower with pollen transported by an insect is known as entomophily pollination. Flowers that attract insects tend to be vibrantly colored, aromatic, and nectar-producing. In certain species, like primulas, anatomical differences between the blooms ensure cross-pollination. There are two more entomophilic flowers-
Although ants, flies, butterflies, and wasps are all significant pollinators globally, bees are among the most well-known groups of insects that pollinate flowers. The appealing adaptations that plants have developed to attract insects include colorful petals, fragrant blooms, and mouthwatering nectar.
Bees, butterflies, wasps, ants, moths, midges, and more are entomophilous pollinators. The following table gives details about the entomophily examples-
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Entomophily Examples |
Description |
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Moths and butterflies |
They pollinate a variety of garden flowers and wild plants, including monarch butterflies. Brightly colored and fragrant, the flowers open during the day with nectar guides. Late afternoon and nighttime are when moths pollinate flowers. Blooms that have been pollinated by moths are light in color or white, and they offer the moths a place to land. Because of how the flower and moth have developed, they can effectively pollinate each other. The moth deposits pollen on the sticky stigma to facilitate fertilization. |
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Bees |
Bee pollination is crucial for commercial fruit trees and garden plants. The two bee species that benefit each other the most are honeybees and bumblebees. Bees, on the other hand, are unable to see red; therefore, they are unable to pollinate flowers that are yellow, blue, or any other color. Only bees can see a nectar guide, which is present on flower petals, and it facilitates pollination by guiding bees to the flower's center. |
The wind played a significant role in the early spermatophytes' (seed plants') ability to transfer pollen from one plant to another. Some gymnosperms, like the Bennettitales, produced flower-like structures that were probably pollinated by insects before the emergence of blooming plants. The use of insects to pollinate gymnosperms probably began during the Permian epoch. Candidates for pollinators include extinct long probosci's insect groups, including Aneuretopsychid, Mesopsychid, and Pseudopolycentropodid scorpionflies, Kalligrammatid and Paradoxosisyrine lacewings, and Zhangsolvid flies, as well as some extant families that specialized on gymnosperms before switching to angiosperms, including Nemestrinid, Tabanid, and Acrocerid flies.
The term is intentionally formed from the Greek words entomo, which means "cut in pieces, segmented," therefore "insect," and phile, which means "loved."
The reproductive method used by grasses, sedges, rushes, and plants that produce catkins are wind pollination. Other blooming plants, which appear to be in a more basic stage, are mostly pollinated by insects (or by birds or bats), and some have subsequently gained wind pollination. Some wind-pollinated plants still have their nectaries, while others, like common heather, are often pollinated by insects and yet release clouds of pollen, making some wind pollination inevitable. Insects also visit the hoary plantain, which is predominantly pollinated by the wind. In general, colorful, vibrant, aromatic flowers like sunflowers, orchids, and Buddleja are pollinated by insects. The dung-mosses in the family Splachnaceae are the only entomophilous plants that are not seeds.
For the reproduction of blooming plants, pollination is crucial. The majority of blooming plants must rely on animal pollination because they are unable to do so on their own. Most of the blooming plants in the world are pollinated by invertebrates like honey bees and butterflies. There are several more insects, though, that contribute to pollination. Plants that are pollinated by insects have special adaptations, including colorful flowers with distinctive patterns that attract pollinating and nectar-seeking insects. Few plants produce pheromones to attract insects that mimic insect pheromones. Plants that consume insects are said to be entomophilous. Incorrect insect pollination might be hampered by a variety of factors. If there is too much rain or wind, pollinators might not be able to spread a plant's blooms. The use of pesticides by gardeners to keep harmful insects away from their plants will also kill beneficial insects, keeping them out of the garden.
The following are some of the advantages of Etomophily-
The following are some of the disadvantages of Etomophily-
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By - Nikita Parmar 2023-08-25 09:48:44 , 11 min readAns. An example of entomophily is the transport of pollen or spores by insects. An assortment of insects, including Lepidoptera, bees, wasps, flies, beetles, and ants, are responsible for pollinating numerous plant species. For instance, several orchid species have co-evolved with a particular pollinator. On the other hand, a number of insect groups visit and/or pollinate plants that are generalists. Entomophilous creatures frequently create strategies to make themselves more attractive to insects.
Ans. It is known that beetles pollinate water lilies and magnolias. Honey bees, another well-known insect pollinator, go from bloom to bloom, collecting pollen and consuming nectar. Bees receive the energy they need for lengthy flights from the nectar.
Ans. When pollen grains from the appropriate flowers touch the stigma, they form a pollen tube between the stigma and the ovary, which starts the pollination process. After the pollen tube is finished, the pollen grain starts carrying sperm cells from the grain to the ovary.
Ans. Insects, birds, bats, and other biotic agents such as the wind are the major physical factors that drive pollinators to alter. Thus, the pollination of plants by insects is known as entomophily, that of plants by birds as ornithophily, and that of plants by bats as chiropterophily.
Ans. Bees and butterflies are a few examples of insect pollinators.
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