The Ancient Origins of Insect Pollination

🦋Insects like lacewings, scorpionflies, and true flies began pollinating gymnosperm plants with their specialized mouthparts, laying the groundwork for future insect pollination.

🌺Flowering plants, or angiosperms, emerged around 140 million years ago and developed relationships with pollinators like beetles.

🐞Beetles were the first pollinators of flowering plants, as they were able to feed on the bowl-shaped flowers without needing a long proboscis.

🐝Bees played a significant role in the second pollinator revolution, which solidified the dominance of flowering plants on Earth.

🌼Today, insects like butterflies, true flies, beetles, and caddisflies with long probosces play a crucial role in pollinating flowering plants.

When did insect pollination first occur?

—Insect pollination likely began during the Jurassic Period, around 165 million years ago, when an extinct lacewing visited a gymnosperm plant and got pollen grains stuck to its mouthparts.

What were the first pollinators of flowering plants?

—Beetles were the first pollinators of flowering plants, as early angiosperms had bowl-shaped flowers that could be fed on by beetles with short mandibles.

How did flowering plants become dominant?

—Flowering plants developed relationships with pollinators like beetles and bees, offering nectar rewards and evolving floral structures that attracted and facilitated pollination by these insects.

What insects play a role in pollinating flowering plants today?

—Insects such as butterflies, true flies, beetles, and caddisflies with long probosces are important pollinators of flowering plants.

Do gymnosperms still rely on insect pollinators?

—While most gymnosperms are wind-pollinated, some modern gymnosperms still attract pollinators like flies and moths with their pollen drops.

00:00About 165 million years ago, an extinct lacewing visited a gymnosperm plant and got pollen grains stuck to its mouthparts, showing the early beginnings of insect pollination.

01:26The lacewing fossil with pollen on its mouthparts demonstrates how pollination between insects and ancient gymnosperms began.

05:35Beetles were the first pollinators of flowering plants, as they could feed on the bowl-shaped flowers without needing a long proboscis.

06:45Bees played a significant role in the second pollinator revolution, helping flowering plants spread and diversify.

08:02Today, insects with long probosces like butterflies, true flies, beetles, and caddisflies are important pollinators of flowering plants.