Pollination by Animals

In general, pollination by insects and other animals are more efficient than pollination by wind. Typically, pollination benefits the animal pollinator to provide him with nectar, and the benefits the plant by direct transfer pollen from one plant to the pistil of another plant. Angiosperm flowers are often highly adapted to pollination by insects and other animals.

Each taxonomic group of animals related pollinating flowers typically have certain characteristics. Therefore, one can often determine which animal species pollinates a certain flower studying the morphology, color, and smell the flowers. For example, some pure red flowers, red or almost pure, and very little odor. Birds serve, like hummingbirds as pollinators of most of the flowers, since birds have excellent vision in the red region of the spectrum, and relatively undeveloped sense of smell. Interestingly enough, Europe has no native pure red flowers and any bird pollinated flowers.

Some flowers smell very strong, but they are very dark color. The flowers are often pollinated by bats, which have very poor vision, are often active during the night, and who understand very well developed odor.

The flowers of many species of plants are marked with special ultraviolet absorbing pigments (flavonoids), which appear to direct the pollinator toward the pollen and nectar.

The pigments are invisible to humans and most animals, but bees' eyes have special ultraviolet photoreceptors that allow the bees to detect patterns and so pollinate the flowers.

( from various sources )