major types of pollinators Actions Share Share Share to social media Facebook X URL https://www.britannica.com/science/major-types-of-pollinators Share Share Share to social media Facebook X URL https://www.britannica.com/science/major-types-of-pollinators Written by Bastiaan J.D. Meeuse Emeritus Professor of Botany, University of Washington, Seattle. Author of The Story of Pollination; coauthor of The Sex Life of Flowers. Bastiaan J.D. Meeuse, Melissa Petruzzello Melissa Petruzzello is Assistant Managing Editor and covers a range of content from plants, algae, and fungi, to renewable energy and environmental engineering. She has her M.S. in Plant Biology and Conservation... Melissa PetruzzelloAll Fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica Last Updated: Jun 17, 2024 • Article History Table of Contents Pollination is essential to the perpetuation of the vast majority of the world’s wild plants—and thus the perpetuation of nearly all terrestrial ecosystems—as well as to the production of most of the fruit and seed crops that feed humanity. The importance of this seemingly simple movement of sperm-laden pollen to female parts for fertilization cannot be overstated: 300,000 species of flowering plants and more than 1,000 species of gymnosperms depend on pollination for sexual reproduction. As sedentary organisms, plants usually must enlist the services of external agents for pollen transport. Although wind has long been important for the pollination of ...(100 of 1140 words)

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