Insect Pollination: How Do Insects Help Plants Reproduce?

How do insects help to create more plants?

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Which insects help a plant reproduce?

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Do plants need insects to reproduce?

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How do plants reproduce if there are no insects?

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What’s the relationship between insects and plants?

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How much pollen does it take for a plant to make seeds?

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How can I attract pollinators to my garden?

Plants reproduce through pollination—a process where pollen grains are transferred from a male anther to a female stigma.^{[1]XResearch source} How does this happen? In most cases, insects are to thank! All of those bugs you see flying around your garden are performing an important function by sprinkling pollen and nectar all over the place—and if you’re a plant trying to reproduce, that’s a pretty sweet deal. If you want to learn more about this fascinating and intricate process, you’re in the right place.

Section 1 of 7:

How do insects help to create more plants?

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The pollinators visit plants where they brush against their pollen. Most pollinators eat nectars or seeds, so they’ll wander around plants looking for a meal. A pollinator may even land on a plant just to take a rest. Regardless, whenever a pollinator lands on a given plant, the pollen brushes off on the pollinator’s body.^{[2]XResearch source}
- Any insect that spreads pollen is known as a pollinator.^{[3]XResearch source}
- Ever wonder why some bugs, like bees, are furry? That fur helps them trap pollen!^{[4]XResearch source}
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Then, the insects carry the pollen away from the plant. Once a bug has finished eating or resting on a plant, they fly or stroll off with all of that pollen still stuck to their body. As they move, little specks of pollen fall all over the place. If any of that pollen lands on a female plant of the same species, it can reproduce!^{[5]XResearch source}
- A pollinator may accidentally drop the pollen into a plant, or land on a female plant where the pollen will rub off on it. In either case, the plant will be able to reproduce.
- Sometimes, plants can reproduce with plants of a different variety. This is how you get hybrid fruits, crops, and plants.
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That pollen is used by other plants to create fruits or seeds. When pollen from a male plant works its way into the female plant, the female plant produces new seeds. If it’s a fruit-bearing plant, like an apple tree, the seeds will grow inside of the new fruit. If those seeds are blown away or dropped to the ground, they can take root and grow into new plants!^{[6]XTrustworthy SourcePenn State ExtensionEducational organization dedicated to delivering science-based information to people, businesses, and communitiesGo to source}
- The process where seeds are blown away, moved, or dropped is known as dispersal, and it is the last step in this entire process.^{[7]XResearch source}
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Section 2 of 7:

Which insects help a plant reproduce?

Bees, butterflies, moths, wasps, flies, and beetles all help with this. Everyone gives the honey bee all of the love, but there are actually tons of insects who help plants reproduce!^{[8]XResearch source} In fact, there are approximately 200,000 different species of insect that help plants reproduce all across the globe.^{[9]XResearch source}
- Virtually every flower and seed plant on the planet relies on pollination for reproduction. Pollination is the process where pollen grains are transferred from male plants to female plants, which creates offspring!^{[10]XResearch source}
- Pollination by animal (including insects) is officially known as entomophily, and an entomophilous plant refers to any plant that requires animals to pollinate.
- There are other animals that help plants reproduce as well. There are roughly 1,000 different bats, birds, and mammals who help spread pollen.^{[11]XResearch source}

Section 3 of 7:

Do plants need insects to reproduce?

Yes, many plants rely heavily on insects to continue reproducing. Roughly 75% of all flowering plants and 35% of food crops rely on insects when it comes to making new plants. Needless to say, pollinators play an extremely important role in the health and stability of our environment, and we would lose out on a lot of delicious fruits and beautiful flowers if pollinators disappeared.^{[12]XResearch source}
- This is why people have been so concerned for honey bees in recent years. A lot of pollinators are facing environmental issues from climate change, habitat loss, and disease. Keeping pollinators healthy is a crucial part of keeping the planet safe!^{[13]XResearch source}
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Section 4 of 7:

How do plants reproduce if there are no insects?

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They’d need to rely on the wind or human intervention. It is possible for plants to pollinate without the help of insects. The wind is capable of knocking pollen loose and sending it flying away, and people can pollinate plants by hand if they need to. However, it would be a lot harder for a plant to flourish if there were no insects to help them pollinate, and a lot of plant species may struggle to survive.^{[14]XResearch source}
- Any plant that relies on insects, wind, or humans to help to reproduce is known as a cross-pollinator.
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Some plants can reproduce all on their own. There are many plants that don’t need help to reproduce. These plants create seeds all on their own, and they don’t need a separate plant to produce the pollen for them.^{[15]XResearch source}
- Any plant that can reproduce on its own is known as a self-pollinator.
- Orchids, beans, and peas are all examples of self-pollinating plants. These plants produce their own pollen and reproduce on their own without any outside help!^{[16]XResearch source}
- Some plants are capable of doing both! This is because cross-pollination is generally better from an evolutionary perspective. Having two sets of genes instead of one results in more diversity, which increases the odds that a given plant species will flourish.^{[17]XResearch source}
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Section 5 of 7:

What’s the relationship between insects and plants?

Pollinators and the plants that need them have a mutualistic relationship. Pollinators rely on the plants for food, and the plants rely on the pollinators for reproduction. This is a good example of a mutualistic relationship, which is where two sets of species have an equally beneficial relationship with one another.^{[18]XTrustworthy SourceNatureRespected Multidisciplinary Scientific JournalGo to source}
- Remember, symbiotic relationships just refer to two species who have a long-term relationship of interacting with one another. Commensalism is where one species benefits but the other doesn’t.^{[19]XResearch source}
- An easy way to remember these is if you picture two roommates. Mutualism would be where the two roommates pick up after one another. Symbiosis would be both roommates cleaning up, but only their own belongings. Commensalism would be one of the roommates cleaning up while the other sleeps all day!

Section 6 of 7:

How much pollen does it take for a plant to make seeds?

It only takes two microscopic grains of pollen for a plant to reproduce. The same way a single human sperm cell is all that’s necessary for an egg to be fertilized, a single grain of pollen is all that’s necessary for a female plant’s ovule to germinate. However, unlike people, plants need both of their eggs to be fertilized for reproduction to take place. As a result, all you need are two microscopic grains of pollen!^{[20]XResearch source}
- A single pollen grain can be as small as 2.4 micrometers (that’s 9.44e-5 inches!) and would be totally invisible to the naked human eye.^{[21]XResearch source} This is why pollinating insects are so important—a single bee can carry hundreds (if not thousands) of pollen grains in a single trip!
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Section 7 of 7:

How can I attract pollinators to my garden?

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Growing a variety of native plants close to one another will help. If you want to attract honey bees and other friendly pollinators, cultivate native plants, since your local pollinators may have no idea what to do with foreign plants. Pollinators also like variety, so grow multiple species and choose plants that look and smell unique.
- Keeping the plants close to one another will make it easier for non-flying pollinators, like beetles, to move from plant to plant.
- For example, if you live in Illinois in an area with dryer soil, you could plant a native garden full of black-eyed Susan, wild onions, shooting-stars, and coneflowers to get a variety of different colors that will keep pollinators happy.^{[22]XResearch source}
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Limiting your use of pesticides and leaving nesting spots alone is crucial. If you spray your plants with pesticides, it’s going to scare pollinators away, or kill the pollinators that do show up. Limit your use of pesticides and only use them when you need to. Also, leave space for pollinators to relax or nest. Don’t trim back bushes or trees too far, and leave some groundcover somewhere in case they need to hide.
- Even natural pesticides, like neem oil, can kill pollinators that land on your plants.
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