Pollinators are often keystone species, meaning that they are critical to an ecosystem. The work of pollinators ensures full harvests of crops and contributes to healthy plants everywhere.
- About 75% of all flowering plant species need the help of animals to move their heavy pollen grains from plant to plant for fertilization.
- About 1,000 of all pollinators are vertebrates such as birds, bats, and small mammals.
- Most pollinators (about 200,000 species) are beneficial insects such as flies, beetles, wasps, ants, butterflies, moths, and bees.
Learn to identify the types of bees in your garden
Learn more about butterfly and moth pollination
Pollinators play a huge role in our food industry. Animals pollinate approximately a thousand different types of plants that produce food, beverages, fiber, spices, and medicines that we depend on.
- Pollinators help produce foods such as apples, strawberries, blueberries, chocolate, melons, peaches, figs, tomatoes, pumpkins, and almonds.
- Honeybees and other insects pollinate nearly $20 billion worth of products in the United States each year!
- To make one pound of honey, honeybees must visit two million flowers.
Data provided by the Pollinator Partnership
