Pollination by Insects: Entomophily, Process, Significance

Pollination is the process of transferring pollen grains from the male anther to the female stigma of a flower with a motive of a living organism, containing plants, to generate offspring for the following generation. One of the methods that plants can produce offspring is by building seeds.

Keyterms: Pollination, pollen grains, stigma, plants, seeds, flower, living organism, bees, butterflies, animals, insects, plant, invertebrate

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Pollination by Insects

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Pollination is very significant to the reproduction of flowering plants. Most flower plants do not pollinate on their own, which is why they will have to rely on other animals. Invertebrates like honey bees and butterflies are generally responsible for pollinating common as the world’s flowering plants. Though, there are several more insects that aid pollination.

Plants that are pollinated by insects exhibit special adaptations like their flowers are colored bright, with bold patterns which leads the insects to pollen and nectar. Few plants attract insects by creating pheromones that mimic insect pheromones. Plants like this are called entomophilous plants.

Various kinds of animals are part of the pollination procedure. Few of these include bats, birds, and land mammals, but the mutual pollinators are insects. Insect pollination is important in gardens and is simple for insects like bees, butterflies, and wasps flying on flowers to gather nectar. In the procedure, pollen gathers on their bodies and rubs off on other flowers that they visit. This fertilizes the flower and then plants will grow seeds along with fruits which will be near seeds.

Inappropriately, many things can intrude the insect pollination method. Too much rain or wind can keep pollinators from being able to spread a plant and its flowers. A gardener may be placing pesticides on their plants to keep away the destructive bugs, but these pesticides will kill beneficial insects and keep them out of the garden too.

Entomophily 

Pollination by insects is a method where the pollen of plants but not just flowering plants is distributed by insects during pollination. Following are examples of insect pollinators:

• Honey Bees
• Butterflies
• Moths
• Beetles
• Wasps
• Ants
• Midges

1. Bees

Bees are the most important pollinator of garden plants and commercial fruit trees. The most mutual species of bees are bumblebees and honeybees. In the meantime, bees can’t see the color red, bee-pollinated flowers which have shades of blue, yellow, or others. Bees gather energy-rich pollen or nectar for their existence and energy wants. Bees visit open flowers, brightly colored, have a strong fragrance, and are tube-shaped, normally with the existence of a nectar guide. A nectar guide is on the flower petals which are seen by the bees only, which helps the bees to guide themselves in the middle of the flower, making the pollination procedure more effective. The pollen sticks to the hair of the bee and when they visit another flower a few of the pollen is transported to a different flower. Lately, there have been various reports about the diminishing population of honeybees. Various flowers will endure unpollinated, failing to bear seeds if honey bees disappear. The influence on commercial fruit growers could be disturbing.

Bees

2. Flies

Various flies are attracted to flowers that have a decaying smell of rotting flesh. These flowers, which produce nectar, commonly have dull colors, such as brown or purple. They originated from the corpse flower or voodoo lily, dragon arum, and carrion flower. The nectar gives energy while the pollen delivers protein. Wasps are significant insect pollinators, fertilizing many species of figs.

Flies

3. Butterflies and Moths

Butterflies like monarchs pollinate many garden flowers and wild plants, which are found in bunches. The flowers are brightly coloured and have a strong fragrance which are open in the day and have nectar guides. Moths pollinate flowers through the late afternoon and night. The flowers which are pollinated by moths are light or white and are allowing the moths to land. The shape of the flower and moth have adapted in a way to let it successfully pollinate. The moth puts pollen on the sticky stigma for fertilization.

Butterflies and Moths

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Advantages and Disadvantages of Insect-Pollinated Plants

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Advantage of Insect Pollinated Plants

• Insects have a desired position over the wind; they can find another flower of the same species, hence, they don't need to deliver tremendous measures of dust.
• This was the aim for one hypothesis about the ascent of angiosperms and they just did fertilization effectively.
• Insects usually fertilize flowers as they transfer from plant to plant looking for food. When a creepy-crawly attains on a bloom to take care of, dust grains follow to its body.

Disadvantage of Insect Pollinated Plants

• The plants don't depend on outer elements for fertilization and considerably littler amounts of dust grains produce a simple achievement rate in getting pollinated.
• Self-fertilization eliminates recessive characters.
• Cross-fertilization takes into consideration assorted variety in the species, the hereditary data of several plants are linked.

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Things to Remember

• Pollination by insects is a part of Unit 6 Reproduction, chapter 2 Sexual Reproduction in Flowering Plants and carries a total of 4 to 5 marks. 
• Bright colours, strong fragrance, bold patterns and nectar attract insects to flowers which lead to pollination.
• Insects that are essential for pollination are: butterfly, bee, wasp, moth and flies.
• Bees and butterflies are attracted towards the bold and brightly coloured flowers during the day and moths are attracted to white flowers at night.
• Flies are generally attracted to flowers that are dull brown and purple in colour with an odour of rotting meat.
• Plants and insects are both essential for each other’s survival, flowers get pollinated whereas insects draw their food.

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Previous Year Questions

1. Meiosis takes place in...[NEET 2013]
2. The sexual reproduction is absent in….[NEET 1995]
3. For union between stock and scion in grafting which one is the first to occur….[NEET 1990]
4. A clone is ......… [KCET 2011]
5. Animals which possess cleidoic eggs exhibit….[KCET 2011]
6. Which among these is not a post fertilization event ?...[KCET 2016]
7. Type of asexual reproduction found in Hydra is..[KEAM]
8. Which of the following is having longitudinal binary fission ?….[KEAM]
9. In grafting, the stock and scion should be joined….
10. Banana is vegetatively propagated by… [AMUEEE 2012]
11. Vegetative propagation by leaves is seen in… [JKCET 2010]
12. Vegetative propagation in water hyacinth takes place by...[AMUEEE 2013]
13. A slender, prostrate subaerial branch of the stem which creeps along….
14. Apomixis in plant means development of a plant...[BHU UET 2008]
15. In these plants artificial vegetative reproduction is possible through cuttings of roots,,,[GUJCET 2006]
16. Isogamy is found in​...[CUCET 2010]
17. The mode of asexual reproduction in Euglena is...[CUCET 2010]