Pollinators account for a major share of global biodiversity in their own right. By transporting pollen grains or packages from one flower to another, they enable sexual reproduction and fruit setting in plants.

While honey bees are well known for their pollinating behaviour with some 30,000 wild bee species, many other hymenoptera and most of the 150,000 known fly species also contribute to pollination. Other animal groups are additionally known to pollinate flowers, including some birds, mammals, beetles, bats and even marsupials. Some pollinating animal species specialise in one species or genus of plant, while others visit a wide variety of flowering plants.

The coevolution of plants and pollinators features a vast range of fascinating adaptations. Many of these relationships are poorly understood, including for a number of economically important crops.

See also  Biodiversity and  Agricultural Biodiversity (in German).