Pollinators are animals: insects that transfer pollen from the male parts of flowers to female parts of other compatible flowers, thereby facilitating plant reproduction and the production of seeds, fruits and the next generation of plants.
When we think about pollinators most of us naturally tend to think of the more familiar groups such as butterflies and bees. In fact, insect pollinators are an incredibly diverse group that includes several less well-known insect groups such as wasps, flies, beetles, ants, bugs, thrips and earwigs. Around 1500 different insect species belonging to these groups play a role in pollinating plants and trees in the UK.
All of these species have fascinating lifecycles, and each of them play crucial roles in the intricate web of life that we depend on.
