This is one of Beepkins and Boopkins favorite places to go. We were shocked when this beautiful park didn't have any Caches in it, so we added the first of this series: The Pollinator. This is a continuation of that series. Hope you stay a while and enjoy the park while you are here!
**Big Congrats to Caste1942 on the FTF!**
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Sometimes beetles are so creepy we dont want to get near them. People spend a great deal of time trying to keep bugs away, not realizing they are essential pollinators. Beetles are no exception to this!
Beetles make up the largest group of pollinating animals because there are so many of them! They are responsible for pollinating 88% of the 240,000 flowering plants around the world!
Ladybugs (Yes! They are beetles! and there are *19* varieties of ladybug) are natural enemies of many insects that we consider pests. A single ladybug can eat as many as 5,000 aphids in its lifetime! Many beetle species eat pollen, so the plants they visit must produce a lot of pollen to make sure that there is enough left to pollinate the flower after the beetles are done eating! Beetles are attracted to spicy, fruity or rancid flesh-like odors. Most beetles need a wide opening to get into the flower because they are clumsy fliers.
Beetles were among the first insects to visit flowers and they remain essential pollinators today. They are especially important pollinators for ancient species such as magnolias and spicebush. Beetles will eat their way through petals and other floral parts. They even defecate within flowers, earning them the nickname “mess and soil” pollinators. Research has shown that beetles are capable of color-vision.
Fossil records show that beetles were abundant during the Mesozoic (about 200 million years before present). Beetles were flower visitors of the earliest angiosperms. Many present-day beetle pollination associations like that of Magnolia, a primitive woody angiosperm, have ancient evolutionary origins.
Beetle Flowers
The flowers that are visited by beetles are typically:
- Bowl-shaped
- White, to dull white or green
- Strongly fruity
- Open during the day
- Moderate nectar producers
- May be large solitary flowers (i.e. magnolias, pond lilies)
- May be clusters of small flowers (goldenrods, Spirea)
Information from: USDA Forest Service and University of California, Agriculture and Natural Resources
