Major types of pollinators

References & Edit History Related Topics

Images

Hummingbird pollination

A green orchid bee (Euglossa) clings to the yellow stamens of a white flower while pollinating, with its metallic body and wings clearly visible.

Interactive bumblebee pollen collection feature with Start button, zoom controls, and a close-up photo of a bee on white flowers.

A Clouded Sulphur butterfly, Colias philodice, with yellow wings bordered in dark brown, rests on bright purple butterfly bush flowers.

A Hummingbird hawk moth with striped brown, white, and pink wings hovers near a cluster of pale pink flowers in Yosemite, California.

An adult pepsis wasp, also known as a tarantula hawk, with a black body and orange wings, collects pollen from small white flowers.

Voracious soldier beetle

Fly pollination

A male purple sunbird (Nectarinia asiatica) with iridescent blue-black plumage feeds on nectar from a cluster of pink and white flowers.

An orange nectar bat, Lonchophylla robusta, hovers in flight at night while feeding from a white orchid flower against a black background.

Major types of pollinators: Media

ecology

Images

Hummingbird pollination

Hummingbird pollination

Fiery-throated hummingbird (Panterpe insignis) feeding on nectar from a...

© David/Fotolia

A green orchid bee (Euglossa) clings to the yellow stamens of a white flower while pollinating, with its metallic body and wings clearly visible.

Bee pollination

A green orchid bee (Euglossa species) pollinating a flower.

© Pedro_Turner—iStock/Getty Images

A Clouded Sulphur butterfly, Colias philodice, with yellow wings bordered in dark brown, rests on bright purple butterfly bush flowers.

Butterfly pollination

Clouded sulphur butterfly (Colias philodice) on a butterfly bush.

© Steve Byland/Dreamstime.com

A Hummingbird hawk moth with striped brown, white, and pink wings hovers near a cluster of pale pink flowers in Yosemite, California.

Moth pollination

A white-lined sphinx moth (Hyles lineata) in Yosemite, California.

© Timothy Stirling/Dreamstime.com

An adult pepsis wasp, also known as a tarantula hawk, with a black body and orange wings, collects pollen from small white flowers.

Wasp pollination

A tarantula hawk (Pepsis species) collecting pollen.

© Hotforphotog/Shutterstock.com

Voracious soldier beetle

Voracious soldier beetle

Soldier beetle (Chauliognathus lugubris) eating pollen.

Peter Firus, Flagstaffotos

Fly pollination

Fly pollination

Thick-headed fly (Conops quadrifasciatus) on a flower.

André Karwath aka

A male purple sunbird (Nectarinia asiatica) with iridescent blue-black plumage feeds on nectar from a cluster of pink and white flowers.

Bird pollination

Male purple sunbird (Nectarinia asiatica) feeding on nectar.

© tahir abbas—iStock/Getty Images

An orange nectar bat, Lonchophylla robusta, hovers in flight at night while feeding from a white orchid flower against a black background.

Bat pollination

Orange nectar bat (Lonchophylla robusta) visiting a white orchid in Costa...

© ondrejprosicky/stock.adobe.com

Interactives

Interactive bumblebee pollen collection feature with Start button, zoom controls, and a close-up photo of a bee on white flowers.

Interactive close-up of a bumblebee collecting pollen in its pollen basket

Explore bumblebee pollination and pollen basket anatomy up close with this interactive...

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

VIEW MORE in these related Britannica articles: