Quck answer
Moths play an important and often overlooked role in pollination. They are nocturnal pollinators and are attracted to flowers that bloom at night. Moths are responsible for pollinating many plants, including some crops such as almonds, cashews, and vanilla. However, due to their nocturnal nature, they are often overshadowed by their daytime counterparts, bees and butterflies. It is important to recognize the vital role moths play in our ecosystem and take steps to protect them, such as planting night-blooming flowers and reducing light pollution that can disrupt their behavior.
Wild Animals
A six-spot burnet moth (Zygaena filipendulae) is seen pollinating a thistle in London, England. Pollinators such as bees, butterflies, moths and other insects play a crucial role in the food chain by pollinating plants and providing a source of food for predators like bats. Dan Kitwood/Getty Images
Bees have been struggling since the mid-2000s due to Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), a phenomenon that has been affecting the world’s most prominent agricultural plant pollinator. Bees pollinate a third of the plants we eat, from oranges to almonds (which is worth $168 billion), and their disappearance is concerning farmers globally.
However, what if there’s a hidden army of pollinators that are secretly pollinating the plants we rely on the most? That would be excellent news for our food security. According to a study published in the journal Biology Letters on May 13, 2020, moths play a more significant role in pollinating plants than previously thought, possibly visiting a wider variety of plant species than bees, but doing it at night.
Why Moths are Overlooked Pollinators
It’s not that scientists were unaware that moths pollinate plants; the issue was that much of the research was restricted to a few specific types of moths that were known to spend a considerable amount of time searching for nectar within flowers, such as hawk moths, which have extremely long tongues that can access hard-to-reach nectar reserves within a flower.
However, over the past decade, research into how moths, as a group, contribute to the pollination process found that even an average moth tongue can be an effective tool for moving pollen from plant to plant, even if it’s not 14 inches (36 centimeters) long. This knowledge prompted the authors of the study to investigate the rarely-studied settling moths, which sit close to flowers and hide in sheltered spots during the day.
“Our research has, for the first time, compared moth pollination networks with those of day-flying pollinators such as bees and hoverflies to help us understand and illustrate the wide-ranging plant preferences we discovered moths to have in an agricultural setting,” says the study’s lead author, Richard Walton, from the University College London Department of Geography, in an email interview. “We also found that moths were carrying most pollen from the flowers they visited on their ‘furry’ bodies, which means that the way moths transport pollen from flower to flower is very similar to bees and hoverflies, which also transport most of the pollen on their bodies.”
A Moth’s Role in the Ecosystem
Many social bees, such as bumblebees and honey bees, visit various types of flowers but tend to target specific plants that they know will provide an abundance of their favorite types of pollen and nectar. As a result, some plant species receive less attention from bees than others.
“Solitary bees can often be more specialized, visiting one type of plant, while hoverflies often visit flowers with a particular shape,” says Walton. “We discovered that moths visit many different plant species with a few different types of flower shape. If daytime pollinators don’t visit a particular plant species often but moth species do, and this results in pollination, it increases the likelihood that this plant will survive for another generation.”
Plants that are not preferred by bees can still persist, as moths are less picky but still effective pollinators. Maintaining a diverse population of plants is important for a stable ecosystem that can withstand threats like climate change. Moths are also an important food source for birds, bats, and other insects. A research team in the UK found that moth food webs were often comparable in complexity to those of daytime pollinators, and moths could potentially fill in pollination gaps left by disappearing bee or butterfly species. Moths are facing severe population declines globally, making it important to protect them as contributors to the pollination process. The researchers also found that moths visit plants such as apples, strawberries, and beans, which are important sources of food for humans. Moths are not just pests, but important contributors to our livelihoods.
FAQ
1. What are moths and how do they differ from butterflies?
Moths are insects that belong to the order Lepidoptera along with butterflies. They are typically nocturnal, with drab colors and furry bodies. Unlike butterflies, moths have a thicker body and are active during the night. Additionally, they have feathery antennae.
2. What is the role of moths in the ecosystem?
Moths play an important role in the ecosystem as pollinators, food for other animals, and decomposers. They are responsible for pollinating many night-blooming flowers and plants, thus contributing to the reproduction of various plant species.
3. How do moths pollinate flowers?
Moths have a long proboscis that they use to collect nectar from flowers. As they move from one flower to another, they transfer pollen from the male to the female parts of the flower, thus aiding in the fertilization process.
4. Which plants rely on moths for pollination?
Many plants rely on moths for pollination, especially those that bloom at night. Examples of such plants include jasmine, yucca, and evening primrose.
5. How do moths benefit farmers?
Moths help farmers by pollinating crops, which can lead to higher yields. They also help to control pest populations by serving as a food source for birds, bats, and other insect predators.
6. What are some threats to moth populations?
Some of the threats to moth populations include habitat destruction, pesticide use, and light pollution. Moths are also vulnerable to climate change, which can affect their breeding and migration patterns.
7. How can we help conserve moth populations?
We can help conserve moth populations by reducing the use of pesticides and preserving their natural habitats. Additionally, reducing light pollution can help moths navigate at night and avoid becoming disoriented.
8. Can moth caterpillars also be beneficial to the ecosystem?
Yes, moth caterpillars can be beneficial to the ecosystem as they serve as a food source for other animals and help to decompose plant matter.
9. What are some interesting facts about moths?
Some interesting facts about moths include that there are over 160,000 species of moths, making them one of the most diverse groups of insects. Additionally, some species of moths can travel up to 20 miles in a night!
10. Are there any species of moths that are endangered?
Yes, there are many species of moths that are endangered due to habitat loss and other threats. Some examples include the Luna moth, the Virginia Ctenucha moth, and the Regal moth.
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