Plants and trees are very important for the world to keep going because they provide food and shelter, among others, to almost all life forms, including humans. Considering the utter number of plants and trees around us, it is clear humans do not and cannot plant all of them. So, who’s doing that important work? Pollinators! Several kinds of insects, birds, and animals are pollinators. As they move, unknowingly they carry the powdery substance called pollen from the male part of a plant’s flower to the female part, and help plants reproduce. Because of the crucial work they do, a lot of research has gone into studying pollinators. Among such research, most have focussed on what are called diurnal pollinators – creatures that are active during the day (such as bees and butterflies). Apparently, not much attention has been paid to nocturnal pollinators – those active at night (such as moths). (It is good to remember that not all moths are nocturnal. A few of them are day fliers.) And a recent research appears to not only address that lacuna but also provide startling insight into how invaluable nocturnal pollinators are.
The study has revealed that moths play an indispensable role in the pollination occurring in than 90 species of moths could be “potential pollinators of 21 plant families in Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh”. The 90-odd moth species make up nearly 65% of those in the region, and “geometridae (geometer moths). and Erebidae (erebid moths, tiger moths, lichen moths, among others) turned out to be the most important moth families for pollen transportation in the Himalayan region”.
While the discovery of the role of moths in the region’s pollination is worthy in itself. the study also establishes something else that moths are more picky than previously thought. The pollen they carry revealed their preference for certain types of plants, challenging the idea that these creatures of the night are usually generalists, meaning they may have no specific preference when it comes to food plants.
While factors such as season and altitude already impact the role of moths as potential pollinators, the fact that they choose certain plants over others should signal the need to protect these plants too. And that would go a long way in keeping the fragile Himalayan ecosystem intact.
Picture Credit : Google
