Insect pollinators play a very important role in the sexual reproductive cycle of plants. Seen below is Oriental Honeybee visiting flowers of Red Powderpuff / Calliandra haematocephala in Singapore Botanical Gardens.
They help to carry pollen grains from the male organs to the female organs of flowers. This ensures successful fertilisation of male and female gametes that result in production of seeds.
Studies have shown that a lack of insect pollinators can lead to the loss of flowering plant species. This is particularly significant in Singapore, where the majority of native flowering plant species are currently endangered or vulnerable.
1. Bees
Bees are the most important pollinators of the insect world. This is due to the fact that they need to gather large quantities of nectar and pollen to feed themselves and their larvae.
Two commonly spotted bee pollinators in Singapore are the Oriental Honeybee and Carpenter Bee (photographed at Kay Siang Rd, outside old MOE building and Hort Park).
- Top – an Oriental Honeybee / Apis cerana visiting flowers of Thailand Powderpuff / Combretum constrictum
- Bottom – a Carpenter Bee / Xylocopa Latipes visiting flowers of Sendudok or Melanstoma malabathricum
Read about other bees spotted in parks in Singapore in the Apr-Jun 2014 issue of My Green Space by NParks. You can also learn more about the role of wild bees in plant pollination in a report here.
2. Butterflies
There are many butterflies species that roam our parks and gardens that assist in the pollination of plants. Featured here are the Pale Grass Blue Butterfly and the Common Rose Butterfly (photographed at Alexandra Canal Park/Singapore Botanical Gardens):
- Top – a Pale Grass Blue Butterfly / Zizeeria maha serica visiting the weed Cupid’s Shaving Brush / Emilia sonchifolia
- Bottom – a Common Rose Butterfly / Pachliopta aristolochiae asteris visiting the ornamental plant Pseuderanthemum laxiflorum.
Read the next blogs on Pollination of Plants, Wind Pollinated Plants and Insect Pollinated Plants.
purebiologyrs 