"attract and use insects, bats, birds or other animals to transfer pollen from one flower to the next. Often they are specialized in shape and have an arrangement of the stamens that ensures that pollen grains are transferred to the bodies of the pollinator when it lands in search of its attractant (such as nectar, pollen, or a mate). In pursuing this attractant from many flowers of the same species, the pollinator transfers pollen to the stigmas—arranged with equally pointed precision—of all of the flowers it visits. Many flowers rely on simple proximity between flower parts to ensure pollination. Others,"
"reduce their own risk of being attacked by predators. Insect-pollinated flowers use bright colours, patterns, rewards of nectar and pollen, and scent to attract pollinators such as bees. Some also use drugs such as caffeine to encourage bees to return more often. Advertising is influenced by sexual selection: in dioecious plants like sallow, the male flowers are brighter yellow (the colour of their pollen) and have more scent than female flowers. Honey bees are more attracted by the brighter male flowers, but not by their scent. Many flowers that are adapted for pollination by birds produce copious quantities of nectar"
"Nectar Nectar is a sugar-rich liquid produced by plants in glands called nectaries, either within the flowers with which it attracts pollinating animals, or by extrafloral nectaries, which provide a nutrient source to animal mutualists, which in turn provide antiherbivore protection. Common nectar-consuming pollinators include mosquitoes, hoverflies, wasps, bees, butterflies and moths, hummingbirds, and bats. Nectar plays an important role in the foraging economics and overall evolution of nectar-eating species; for example, nectar and its properties are responsible for the differential evolution of the African honey bee, ""A. m. scutellata"" and the western honey bee. Nectar is an ecologically important"
"like dead animals, often called Carrion flowers, including ""Rafflesia"", the titan arum, and the North American pawpaw (""Asimina triloba""). Flowers pollinated by night visitors, including bats and moths, are likely to concentrate on scent to attract pollinators and most such flowers are white. Other flowers use mimicry to attract pollinators. Some species of orchids, for example, produce flowers resembling female bees in color, shape, and scent. Male bees move from one such flower to another in search of a mate. Many flowers have close relationships with one or a few specific pollinating organisms. Many flowers, for example, attract only one"
"for the birds to stop coming and pollinating the flower. Flowers can be pollinated by short tailed bats. An example of this is the dactylanthus (""Dactylanthus taylorii""). This plant has its home under the ground acting the role of a parasite on the roots of forest trees. The dactylanthus has only its flowers pointing to the surface and the flowers lack colour but have the advantage of containing lots of nectar and a very strong scent. These act as a very useful mechanism in attracting the bat. Petal Petals are modified leaves that surround the reproductive parts of flowers. They"
"on various parts that attract animals looking for nutritious nectar. Birds and bees have color vision, enabling them to seek out ""colorful"" flowers. Some flowers have patterns, called nectar guides, that show pollinators where to look for nectar; they may be visible only under ultraviolet light, which is visible to bees and some other insects. Flowers also attract pollinators by scent and some of those scents are pleasant to our sense of smell. Not all flower scents are appealing to humans; a number of flowers are pollinated by insects that are attracted to rotten flesh and have flowers that smell"
"attract insects, and ornithophilous species, with flowers that attract birds. Entomophilous flowers have protruding lower lips, which provide a landing area for insects, and they are often blue, purple, or white. Bird-adapted flowers are red, orange, yellow, or green, and have lobes pointing downwards which discourages insects. Bird pollinated species also tend to have longer stamens, which brush pollen onto and off the bird's head as it feeds. The fruits are eaten by emus, which disperse the seeds in their droppings although the belief that this aids in the germination of the seeds is mistaken. Some species of ""Eremophila"", such"
"plant. The majority of these pollinators are insects, but about 1,500 species of birds and mammals visit flowers and may transfer pollen between them. Besides birds and bats which are the most frequent visitors, these include monkeys, lemurs, squirrels, rodents and possums. Entomophily, pollination by insects, often occurs on plants that have developed colored petals and a strong scent to attract insects such as, bees, wasps and occasionally ants (Hymenoptera), beetles (Coleoptera), moths and butterflies (Lepidoptera), and flies (Diptera). The existence of insect pollination dates back to the dinosaur era. In zoophily, pollination is performed by vertebrates such as birds"
"the California buckeye. Nectar contains water, carbohydrates, amino acids, ions and numerous other compounds. Nectar Nectar is a sugar-rich liquid produced by plants in glands called nectaries, either within the flowers with which it attracts pollinating animals, or by extrafloral nectaries, which provide a nutrient source to animal mutualists, which in turn provide antiherbivore protection. Common nectar-consuming pollinators include mosquitoes, hoverflies, wasps, bees, butterflies and moths, hummingbirds, and bats. Nectar plays an important role in the foraging economics and overall evolution of nectar-eating species; for example, nectar and its properties are responsible for the differential evolution of the African honey"
"may be aggregated in heads). Flies tend to be important pollinators in high-altitude and high-latitude systems, where they are numerous and other insect groups may be lacking. There are two main types of fly pollination: myophily and sapromyophily. Myophily includes flies that feed on nectar and pollen as adults - particularly bee flies (Bombyliidae), hoverflies (Syrphidae), and others - and these regularly visit flowers. In contrast, male fruit flies (Tephritidae) are enticed by specific floral attractants emitted by some wild orchids which do not produce nectar. Chemicals emitted by the orchid act as the fly's sex pheromone precursor or booster."
"and have a lot of nectar. They also tend to be unscented. Flowers with generalist pollinators tend to have dilute nectar but those that have specialist pollinators such as hummingbirds or sunbirds tend to have more concentrated nectar. The nectar of ornithophilous flowers vary in the sugar composition, with hexoses being high in passerine pollinated species while those that are insect pollinated tend to be sucrose rich. Hummingbird pollinated flowers however tend to be sucrose rich. Many plants of the family Loranthaceae have explosive flowers that shower pollen on a bird that forages near it. They are associated mainly with"
"sucrose. Melezitose Melezitose, also spelled melicitose, is a nonreducing trisaccharide sugar that is produced by many plant sap eating insects, including aphids such as ""Cinara pilicornis"" by an enzyme reaction. This is beneficial to the insects, as it reduces the stress of osmosis by reducing their own water potential. The melezitose is part of the honeydew which acts as an attractant for ants and also as a food for bees. This is useful to the lice as they have a symbiotic relationship with ants. Melezitose can be partially hydrolyzed to glucose and turanose the latter of which is an isomer"
"as pollinators."" Bees are the most common pollinators of cacti; bee-pollination is considered to have been the first to evolve. Day-flying butterflies and nocturnal moths are associated with different pollination syndromes. Butterfly-pollinated flowers are usually brightly colored, opening during the day, whereas moth-pollinated flowers are often white or pale in color, opening only in the evening and at night. As an example, ""Pachycereus schottii"" is pollinated by a particular species of moth, ""Upiga virescens"", which also lays its eggs among the developing seeds its caterpillars later consume. The flowers of this cactus are funnel-shaped, white to deep pink, up to"
"Entomophily Entomophily or insect pollination is a form of pollination whereby pollen of plants, especially but not only of flowering plants, is distributed by insects. Flowers pollinated by insects typically advertise themselves with bright colours, sometimes with conspicuous patterns (honey guides) leading to rewards of pollen and nectar; they may also have an attractive scent which in some cases mimics insect pheromones. Insect pollinators such as bees have adaptations for their role, such as lapping or sucking mouthparts to take in nectar, and in some species also pollen baskets on their hind legs. This required the coevolution of insects and"
"attractive to many insects, especially bees. Flies (Diptera), bees (Hymenoptera), and ants (""Solenopsis"") are the main pollinators. Among the Diptera, ""Lucilia"" spp. are abundant, and among the Hymenoptera, honey bees (""Apis dorsata"" and ""A. cerana"") and the stingless bee genus ""Trigona"" are the major visitors. ""A. cerana"" colonies foraging on rambutan flowers produce large quantities of honey. Bees foraging for nectar routinely contact the stigma of male flowers and gather significant quantities of the sticky pollen from male blossoms. Little pollen has been seen on bees foraging female flowers. Although male flowers open at 06:00, foraging by ""A. cerana"" is"
"angiosperms became the world's dominant plants on land. At least three aspects of flowers appear to have coevolved between flowering plants and insects, because they involve communication between these organisms. Firstly, flowers communicate with their pollinators by scent; insects use this scent to determine how far away a flower is, to approach it, and to identify where to land and finally to feed. Secondly, flowers attract insects with patterns of stripes leading to the rewards of nectar and pollen, and colours such as blue and ultraviolet, to which their eyes are sensitive; in contrast, bird-pollinated flowers tend to be red"
"lories and lorikeets. Hummingbirds are the oldest group, with the greatest degree of specialization on nectar. Flowers attractive to hummingbirds that can hover in front of the flower tend to be large red or orange tubes with a lot of dilute nectar, secreted during the day. Since birds do not have a strong response to scent, they tend to be odorless. Perching birds need a substantial landing platform, so sunbirds, honeyeaters, and the like are less associated with tubular flowers. Bat-pollinated flowers tend to be large and showy, white or light coloured, open at night and have strong musty odours."
"probosces. An analysis of the scents emitted by ""Ceropegia dolichophylla"" showed the presence of spiroacetals which are rare in plants and common among insects. Milichid flies, which are kleptoparasites of arthropod predators, are attracted by these chemicals and become the pollinators of these plants. Pollination trap Pollination traps or trap-flowers are plant flower structures that aid the trapping of insects, mainly flies, so as to enhance their effectiveness in pollination. The structures of pollination traps can include deep tubular corollas with downward pointing hairs, slippery surfaces, adhesive liquid, attractants (often deceiving the insects by the use of sexual attractants rather"
"colour, shape, and odour which attracts male insects via mimicry of a receptive female. Pollination happens as the insect attempts to mate with flowers. Many neotropical orchids are pollinated by male orchid bees, which visit the flowers to gather volatile chemicals they require to synthesize pheromonal attractants. Males of such species as ""Euglossa imperialis"" or ""Eulaema meriana"" have been observed to leave their territories periodically to forage for aromatic compounds, such as cineole, to synthesize pheromone for attracting and mating with females. Each type of orchid places the pollinia on a different body part of a different species of bee,"
"Attractive toxic sugar baits Attractive toxic sugar baits or ATSBs are oral insecticides designed to reduce malaria infections by killing the host vector - the mosquito - rather than the parasite itself. Attractive toxic sugar baits are manufactured from readily available, inexpensive ingredients in tropical and sub-tropical areas. They broadly consist of an oral toxic component, a sugar component to encourage feeding on the ATSB, and a scented component attractive to mosquitos or other target vectors. Typical ATSBs consist of boric acid as the oral toxin, unrefined cane sugar as the sugar source, and fruit, flowers, seeds and other scented"
"Nectar source A nectar source is a flowering plant that produces nectar as part of its reproductive strategy. These plants create nectar, which attract pollinating insects and sometimes other animals such as birds. Nectar source plants are important for beekeeping, as well as in agriculture and horticulture. Their use is particularly important for organic agriculture and organic horticulture, where they serve not only to attract pollinators for crops, but also provide habitat for beneficial insects and other animals that provide pest control. In gardens, nectar sources are often provided to attract butterflies and hummingbirds as well. While many plants produce"
"Pollinator A pollinator is an animal that moves pollen from the male anther of a flower to the female stigma of a flower. This helps to bring about fertilization of the ovules in the flower by the male gametes from the pollen grains. Insect pollinators include bees, (honey bees, solitary species, bumblebees); pollen wasps (Masarinae); ants; flies including bee flies, hoverflies and mosquitoes; lepidopterans, both butterflies and moths; and flower beetles. Vertebrates, mainly bats and birds, but also some non-bat mammals (monkeys, lemurs, possums, rodents) and some lizards pollinate certain plants. Among the pollinating birds are hummingbirds, honeyeaters and sunbirds"
"so moth-pollinated flowers (e.g., ""Silene latifolia"" ) tend to be white, night-opening, large, and showy with tubular corollae and a strong, sweet scent produced in the evening, night, or early morning. A lot of nectar is produced to fuel the high metabolic rates needed to power their flight. Other moths (e.g., noctuids, geometrids, pyralids) fly slowly and settle on the flower. They do not require as much nectar as the fast-flying hawk moths, and the flowers tend to be small (though they may be aggregated in heads). Mutualism is a form of biological interaction wherein each individual involved benefits in"
"visit flowers and hitching a ride to other flowers where they can feed on the nectar. Hummingbird flower mites favour plants in the families of Heliconiaceae, Costaceae, Zingiberaceae, Amaryllidaceae, Rubiaceae, Apocynaceae, Bromeliaceae, Gesneriaceae, Lobeliaceae and Ericaceae, members of which are associated with hummingbirds. Ornithophily Ornithophily or bird pollination is the pollination of flowering plants by birds. This coevolutionary association is derived from insect pollination (entomophily) and is particularly well developed in some parts of the world, especially in the tropics and on some island chains. The association involves several distinctive plant adaptations forming a ""pollination syndrome"". The plants typically have"
"presence of butterflies and hummingbirds is often encouraged. Butterflies are attracted by most good nectar sources, though there are particular plants they seem to prefer. Certain plants are also grown as a food source for their caterpillars. Hummingbirds feed on tubular flowers, using their long, siphoning beaks. Many plants in the mint family, Lamiaceae, are used to attract hummingbirds. Nectar source A nectar source is a flowering plant that produces nectar as part of its reproductive strategy. These plants create nectar, which attract pollinating insects and sometimes other animals such as birds. Nectar source plants are important for beekeeping, as"
"to wide flowers with little nectar and copious pollen, which are more attractive to beetles. When these characteristics are experimentally modified (altering colour, size, orientation), pollinator visitation may decline. It has recently been discovered that cycads, which are not flowering plants, are also pollinated by insects. The most recognized pollinators are the various species of bees, which are plainly adapted to pollination. Bees typically are fuzzy and carry an electrostatic charge. Both features help pollen grains adhere to their bodies, but they also have specialized pollen-carrying structures; in most bees, this takes the form of a structure known as the"
"are pollinated by hymenoptera (bees, bumblebees and wasps of the genera ""Alloscirtetica"", ""Bombus"", and ""Megachile"", among others). However, the species with white flowers (""S. candidus, S. integrifolius"" and ""S. lacteus"") are pollinated by moths, and ""Schizanthus grahamii"" is pollinated by hummingbirds (such as, for example, ""Oreotrochilus leucopleurus""). Although the great majority of Solanaceae exhibit poricidal pollen dehiscence, the bee-pollinated species in this genus use explosive dehiscence which is triggered when an insect lands on a flower; this ensures that the insect is covered in pollen. This mechanism favours cross pollination (allogamy or xenogamy) in these plants. Alkaloids are nitrogenous organic"
"by plants and those used by insects for their communications, especially for mating. In the classic case of orchids in the genus ""Ophrys"", the volatiles mimic the female sex pheromone of bees which attempt to copulate with the flower and thereby pollinate them. A study of the evolution of volatile chemicals in scarab beetles and flowers that attract them in the family Araceae showed that the insects had evolved the chemicals in the Jurassic Period while the plants evolved the attractants later in the Cretaceous Period. The colours of flowers are another area of enquiry. Some distinct patterns have been"
"item, the sugar source for honey. It is also useful in agriculture and horticulture because the adult stages of some predatory insects feed on nectar. For example, the social wasp species ""Apoica flavissima"" relies on nectar as a primary food source. In turn, these wasps then hunt agricultural pest insects as food for their young. For example, thread-waisted wasps (genus ""Ammophila"") are known for hunting caterpillars that are destructive to crops. Caterpillars however, do eventually become butterflies and moths, which are very important pollinators. Nectar secretion increases as the flower is visited by pollinators. After pollination, the nectar is frequently"
"long, and open at night. Hummingbirds are significant pollinators of cacti. Species showing the typical hummingbird-pollination syndrome have flowers with colors towards the red end of the spectrum, anthers and stamens that protrude from the flower, and a shape that is not radially symmetrical, with a lower lip that bends downwards; they produce large amounts of nectar with a relatively low sugar content. ""Schlumbergera"" species, such as ""S. truncata"", have flowers that correspond closely to this syndrome. Other hummingbird-pollinated genera include ""Cleistocactus"" and ""Disocactus"". Bat-pollination is relatively uncommon in flowering plants, but about a quarter of the genera of cacti"
"pollen transfer occurs. The structures found in large flowers such as those of ""Rafflesia"" and some ""Aristolochia"" are also evolved to attract and trap pollinators. Trap-flowers that produce deceptive sexual chemicals to attract insects may often lack nectar rewards. Many fly-trapping flowers produce the smell of carrion. Many members of the ""Arum"" family trap pollinators and the specific mechanisms vary with the insects involved. Plants in the genus ""Ceropegia"" attract pollinating small flies (usually female) in a wide range of families, including Milichiidae, Chloropidae, Drosophilidae, Calliphoridae, Ephydridae, Sciaridae, Tachinidae, Scatopsidae, Phoridae, and Ceratopogonidae, and the pollinaria always attach to their"
"these benefits. ""Cirsium vulgare"", for instance, ranked in the top 10 for nectar production in a UK plants survey conducted by the AgriLand project which is supported by the UK Insect Pollinators Initiative. Bull thistle was also a top producer of nectar sugar in another study in Britain, ranked third with a production per floral unit of (2323 ± 418μg). Not only does it provide abundant nectar, it provides seeds and floss for birds, such as the American goldfinch, ""Spinus tristis"", and supports the larvae of a Painted Lady butterfly, ""Vanessa cardui"". A great many native North American plants have"
"plants. ""C. fasciculata"" is pollinated only by bees. The flowers have yellow anthers that produce reproductive pollen, and purple anthers that produce food pollen. Long-tongued bees such as bumblebees, honey bees, long-horned bees, and leafcutting bees pollinate the flowers. There are nectar-producing glands on the leaf stems, which attract a different set of insects: sweat bees, flies, wasps, and ants. It thrives in areas that have been burned recently before declining in number in the following years. It is considered an excellent choice for planting in disturbed areas, as it will quickly cover an area, preventing erosion, while still allowing"