What is Pollinator?
[[File:Lipotriches sp..jpg|thumb|''[[Lipotriches]]'' sp. bee pollinating flowers]] [[File:Tacca chantrieri172799839.jpg|thumb|Tropical flowers like ''[[Tacca chantrieri]]'' are [[bat]]-pollinated.]] A '''pollinator''' is an animal that does [[pollination]]. Pollination is almost entirely done by [[insects]], though there are some exceptions. Some birds (such as [[hummingbirds]]) pollinate flowers as they take [[nectar]]. Overall, however, it is [[insects]] that pollinate. [[Bees]], of course, pollinate flowers as they take nectar. But [[wasps]], [[ants]], [[flies]], [[beetles]], [[butterflies]] and [[moths]] all have many species which are pollinators. The plant which offers the [[pollen]] is called the ''pollenizer''. To be a pollinator, an insect has to move pollen from the male [[anther]] to the female [[stigma]] of a flower. The pollinator gets away with much of the pollen for its own use.<ref> Fægri K. and L. van der Pijl. 1979. ''The principles of pollination ecology''. Oxford: Pergamon.</ref> Although it is obvious that [[flowering plants]] are the plants which usually offer pollen, there is a pre-history of pollination in [[cycads]].<ref>Dennis Wm. Stevenson; Knut J. Norstog & Priscilla K.S. Fawcett 1998. Pollination biology of cycads. In S.J. Owens & P.J. Rudall (eds) ''Reproductive biology''. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.</ref> Bees may not be the most numerous insects which take up the pollen. [[hoverfly|Hoverflies]] ([[Syrphidae]]) are very numerous visitors to flowers,<ref>Gilbert, Francis S. 1986. ''Hoverflies''. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-27701-9</ref> and they may be more numerous than bees in many environments. The list of pollinators is long. Bees, wasps, [[ants]], flies, [[mosquito|mosquitoes]], [[lepidoptera]] and [[beetles]] all have some pollinators who take nectar, and also some vertebrates: [[bats]], [[birds]], [[monkeys]], [[lemurs]], [[possums]], [[rodents]]. Wild pollinators often visit many plant species, and plants are visited by many pollinator species. All these rela