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“Many insects, arthropods, invertebrates and mammals pollinate,” Harpur said. “Bats are probably the best-known mammalian examples, but wasps, flies, beetles and slugs also pollinate. It works very similar to how bees pollinate-the animal is attracted to the flower in some way and pollen is transferred on to its body and then, eventually, to another plant. One of my favorite examples is the mirror orchid. Its flower looks and smells like a female wasp. It is so convincing that male wasps will try to mate with it and, in so doing, they transfer pollen between flowers.”
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Bats, beetles, flies, moths, birds, butterflies and bees: can you guess what all these have in common?
They can all be pollinators and, in many parts of the country, including the Midwest, their populations are under threat. Increased urbanization, use of pesticides, global warming and many other factors have severely diminished pollinator populations throughout North America.
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By Brian Wallheimer A dozen years ago, Steve Smith could anticipate the calls coming in from farmers across the state. They’d report when and how…
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