Editing Pollinator (section)

==Background==
Plants fall into [[pollination syndrome]]s that reflect the type of pollinator being attracted. These are characteristics such as: overall flower size, the depth and width of the corolla, the color (including patterns called [[nectar guides]] that are visible only in [[ultraviolet]] light), the [[odor|scent]], amount of nectar, composition of nectar, etc.<ref>{{cite book | vauthors = [[Knut Fægri|Fægri K]], van der Pijl L | date = 1979 | title = The Principles of Pollination Ecology | location = Oxford | publisher = Pergamon }}</ref> For example, birds visit red flowers with long, narrow tubes and much nectar, but are not as strongly attracted to wide flowers with little nectar and copious pollen, which are more attractive to beetles. When these characteristics are experimentally modified (altering colour, size, orientation), pollinator visitation may decline.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Fulton M, Hodges SA | date = 1999 | title = Floral isolation between ''Aquilegia formosa'' and ''A. pubescens''. | journal = Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, Series B | volume = 266 | issue = 1435 | pages = 2247–2252 | doi = 10.1098/rspb.1999.0915 | pmc = 1690454 }}</ref><ref name="pmid18707369">{{cite journal | vauthors = Hodges SA, Whittall JB, Fulton M, Yang JY | title = Genetics of floral traits influencing reproductive isolation between Aquilegia formosa and Aquilegia pubescens | journal = The American Naturalist | volume = 159 | issue = Suppl 3| pages = S51–60 | date = March 2002 | pmid = 18707369 | doi = 10.1086/338372 | s2cid = 3399289 }}</ref>

Although non-bee pollinators have been seen to be less effective at depositing pollen than bee pollinators<ref name=":02">{{Cite journal |last1=Rader |first1=Romina |last2=Howlett |first2=Bradley G. |last3=Cunningham |first3=Saul A. |last4=Westcott |first4=David A. |last5=Newstrom-Lloyd |first5=Linda E. |last6=Walker |first6=Melanie K. |last7=Teulon |first7=David A.J. |last8=Edwards |first8=Will |date=October 2009 |title=Alternative pollinator taxa are equally efficient but not as effective as the honeybee in a mass flowering crop |journal=Journal of Applied Ecology |language=en |volume=46 |issue=5 |pages=1080–1087 |doi=10.1111/j.1365-2664.2009.01700.x|doi-access=free |bibcode=2009JApEc..46.1080R }}</ref> one study showed that non-bees made more visits than bees resulting in non-bees performing 38% of visits to crop flowers, outweighing the ineffectiveness of their ability to pollinate.<ref name=":12">{{Cite journal |last1=Rader |first1=Romina |last2=Bartomeus |first2=Ignasi |last3=Garibaldi |first3=Lucas A. |last4=Garratt |first4=Michael P. D. |last5=Howlett |first5=Brad G. |last6=Winfree |first6=Rachael |last7=Cunningham |first7=Saul A. |last8=Mayfield |first8=Margaret M. |last9=Arthur |first9=Anthony D. |last10=Andersson |first10=Georg K. S. |last11=Bommarco |first11=Riccardo |last12=Brittain |first12=Claire |last13=Carvalheiro |first13=Luísa G. |last14=Chacoff |first14=Natacha P. |last15=Entling |first15=Martin H. |date=5 January 2016 |title=Non-bee insects are important contributors to global crop pollination |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |language=en |volume=113 |issue=1 |pages=146–151 |doi=10.1073/pnas.1517092112 |issn=0027-8424 |pmc=4711867 |pmid=26621730|bibcode=2016PNAS..113..146R |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name=":02" />

It has recently been discovered that [[cycad]]s, which are not [[flowering plant]]s, are also pollinated by insects.<ref>{{cite book | vauthors = Stevenson DW, Norstog LJ, Fawcett PK |chapter=Pollination Biology Of Cycads | veditors = Owens SJ, Rudall PJ | title = Reproductive Biology  |publisher=Royal Botanic Gardens | location = Kew |year= 1998 |chapter-url=http://www.plantapalm.com/vce/biology/pollination.htm |access-date=9 December 2014}}</ref> In 2016, researchers showed evidence of pollination occurring underwater, which was previously thought not to happen.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|date=5 October 2016|title=The new underwater world of pollination|url=https://www.conservationmagazine.org/2016/10/new-underwater-world-pollination/|access-date=18 October 2021|website=Conservation|language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web| vauthors = Benson E |title=Bees of the sea: Tiny crustaceans pollinate underwater plants |url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/2114930-bees-of-the-sea-tiny-crustaceans-pollinate-underwater-plants/|access-date=18 October 2021| work = New Scientist |language=en-US}}</ref>