Flowering plants and Pollinators
Coevolution of insects and plants over the past 200 milliion years has resulted in relationships that have influenced the development of both groups of organisms. An example of such a relationships is pollination in flowering plants. A primary reason that flowering plants are the dominant group of plants is their exploitation of insects as pollinators. Insects transport pollen from one plant to another, while plants provide insects with a food source such as nectar or pollen. Nearly 70% of flowering plants rely on insects for pollination and 30% of our food comes from bee-pollinated crops. [2] |
Coevolution is often seen in a number of species of flowering plants that coevolved with specific pollinators (insects, bats, etc). The pollinator gets a reward such as nectar for pollinating the plant. Moth-pollinated plants often have spurs or tubes the exact length of a certain moth’s “tongue.” For example, Charles Darwin predicted the existance of a moth in Madagascar based on the size and shape of a flower he saw there. The moth was actually discovered about 40 years later. The common snapdragons that many people plant in their gardens are designed for a bumblebee of just the right weight to trip the opening mechanism.
|
Yucca flowers are a certain shape so only that tiny moth can pollinate them. The moths lay their eggs in the yucca flowers and the larvae (caterpillars) live in the developing ovary and eat yucca seeds. [3] |