Butterfly pollinating on yellow flower
© lzh/Getty Image
Butterfly pollinating on yellow flower
Zoom in on the small interaction that helps keep landscapes alive: a butterfly on a yellow flower, pausing for nectar. While it feeds, pollen dusts its body and hitches a ride to the next bloom—one of the quiet ways flowering plants reproduce. Pollinators are not only bees. Butterflies, birds, bats, beetles and many other animals help move pollen, supporting wild plants and many of the fruits and vegetables people eat.
Butterflies may not carry as much pollen as fuzzy bees, but with more than 17,000 known species worldwide, they still play an important role in ecosystems. Their feet contain taste sensors that help them identify suitable plants, almost as if they can sample a meal before settling down. Some species also migrate astonishing distances. The monarch butterfly, for example, travels thousands of kilometres, proving that even delicate wings can handle remarkably long journeys across landscapes and seasons.
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