What Is Pollination?

Step 1 of 5

A plant needs pollen from another plant.

Mixing genetic material from two parents makes offspring more varied and more able to cope with disease. Self-pollination is a poor second best.

Step 2 of 5

Animals are the most reliable couriers.

Bees, butterflies, birds and bats are paid in nectar and go flower to flower. Targeted delivery, so very little pollen is wasted.

Step 3 of 5

Wind pollination is a numbers game.

Grasses and many trees just release clouds of pollen and hope. It works, but requires vast quantities — which is what hay fever is.

Step 4 of 5

Flowers advertise to the courier they want.

Bright colours for bees, ultraviolet patterns invisible to us, night scent for moths, red tubes for birds. Each design targets a specific visitor.

Step 5 of 5

A large share of our food depends on it.

Around three-quarters of leading crop types benefit from animal pollination, which is why declines in insect numbers matter well beyond nature.

Some orchids mimic female insects so convincingly that males try to mate with them and leave carrying pollen.