The first victims of pesticides, these precious insects can be helped by planting honey-producing flowers in the garden.
You will then have the pleasure of welcoming the 4 main orders of pollinating insects: Hymenoptera, Diptera, Coleoptera and Lepidoptera.
1. The bee
It is the first pollinating insect in gardens.
Whether it is the domestic bee (
Apis mellifera
) which produces honey or wild bees such as the carpenter bee, these hymenoptera love flowering plants such as mimosa, laurel, rosemary or heather.
There are nearly 1000 species in France which are seriously threatened with an extinction rate “100 to 1000 times higher than normal”, according to the UN.
A bee is capable of gathering pollen from
250 flowers per hour
by storing, on a single leg, around 500,000 grains of pollen!
The bee is the first pollinating insect in gardens Copyright (c) 2021 kajornyot wildlife photography/Shutterstock.
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Also read: Install a bee hive at home: everything you need to know
2. The bumblebee
Another well-known hymenoptera among pollinating insects: the bumblebee.
Belonging to the Apid family like bees, the ground bumblebee (
Bombus terrestris
) and the garden bumblebee (
Bombus hortorum
) are two common bumblebees in Europe.
Attention !
Despite popular belief, the bumblebee is not
the male of the bee.
It is also much stockier, its size being 7 to 32 mm depending on whether it is a worker, a male or the queen.
The bumblebee is actually a social insect that lives in colonies in the same way as bees.
Also in decline, bumblebees feed on flower nectar and collect pollen for their larvae.
Bumblebees feed on flower nectar and collect pollen for their larvae.
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3. The wasp
Still among the hymenoptera, the wasp turns out to be
an excellent pollinating insect.
In addition to its roles as predator of pests and decomposer of insect corpses, the wasp participates in the multiplication of flowering plants.
Adult wasps feed mainly on sugar (nectar, fruits, etc.) while their carnivorous larvae feed on caterpillars, aphids or mealybugs.
They therefore constitute excellent garden aids.
Not all wasps participate in pollination: it is generally the males who are responsible for collecting the famous nectar.
The fig tree is, moreover, pollinated by specific wasps called Agaonids.
In addition to its roles as predator of pests and decomposer of insect corpses, the wasp participates in the multiplication of flowering plants.
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4. The butterfly
There are
5,200 species in France,
including 250 species that live during the day.
Belonging to the order Lepidoptera, butterflies are also valuable pollinating insects.
They unfurl their long proboscis to collect nectar from the heart of the flower, thus participating in the sexual reproduction of flowering plants.
Indeed, during this tasty tasting, the butterfly unwittingly collects pollen on its trunk and the hairs of its body.
This will settle on another flower that it will collect, allowing its fertilization.
Not all butterflies are pollinators but some are true champions of pollination such as the Moro-Sphinx (
Macroglossum stellatarum
), the Swallowtail (
Papilio machaon
) or the Blue Argus (
Polyommatus icarus
).
Belonging to the order Lepidoptera, butterflies are also valuable pollinating insects.
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Also read: The butterfly tree: a paradise for pollinating insects!
5. Golden ketone
Some beetles also make excellent pollinating insects.
This is, in particular, the case of golden ketone.
You will recognize this little beetle by its metallic green color with golden highlights.
While the adult beetle appreciates nectar, pollen and flower petals, its larvae are heavy consumers of dead plant matter which they decompose.
The ketone larva should not be confused with
the chafer larva
which destroys plants.
Golden ketone is particularly useful in the garden.
You may have the pleasure of seeing her around your roses which she loves.
The adult cetacean appreciates nectar, pollen and flower petals.
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6. The hoverfly
Belonging to the order of Diptera (with a single pair of wings), the hoverfly is sometimes confused with the bee or wasp given its yellow and black colors.
However, it is smaller and, for sure, recognizable by its hovering around the flowers.
A pollinating insect, the hoverfly feeds, in particular, on the nectar and pollen of dandelion, poppy, wild carrot and daisy.
It is also a gardener's friend since it is a predator of aphids in the larval stage.
A larva can consume
400 to 700 aphids
during its 10 days of growth.
A pollinating insect, the hoverfly feeds, in particular, on the nectar and pollen of dandelion, poppy, wild carrot and daisy.
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7. The fly
Another insect of the order Diptera whose role as pollinator we would not suspect: the fly!
Like hoverflies, some flies forage and consume pollen and nectar from flowers.
These are flies from
the muscidae family
, which includes the housefly (
Musca domestica
).
This family includes nearly 5,000 species, often beneficial to the garden because some are involved in the decomposition of organic waste, in pollination or are formidable predators of aphids and mosquitoes.
Like hoverflies, some flies forage and consume pollen and nectar from flowers.
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8. The ant
In addition to its role as pollinator, the ant is a formidable predator of larvae, caterpillars and other garden pests.
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Even more surprising than the fly, the ant is also a pollinating insect, even if its role is more anecdotal than the bee.
More precisely, 16 species of this hymenoptera from the Formicidae family collect
nectar from flowers
.
The two pairs of wings characteristic of the order Hymenoptera are absent in the worker ant (which is sterile) but visible in the queens and males, during the reproduction period.
In addition to its role as pollinator, the ant is a formidable predator of larvae, caterpillars and other garden pests.
All the more reason to let it evolve within the numerous galleries it digs and which offer the advantage of aerating the earth.