Firstly, our pollinator position: there are not really any ‘bad’ pollinators.
Pollinators help humans and our ecosystems in unseen and under-valued ways. They help deliver delicious and nutritious food to our tables, assist in purifying water and air and are an important part of the food chain.
So we thought it was opportune to present a pollinator pitch for some of the unloved pollinator heroes that get a bad rap.
All pollinators just do what they do to survive, not with any form of malice or malevolence. It is just that they have adaptations to survive that give them frustrating attributes. There are definitely a few of these little critters that people swear are the devil incarnate. We admit some of these animals are seen as pesky nuisances, and others as symbols of decay, but here is a more measured account of some that deserve a little PR.
The fly is not exactly a noble creature. It flies into your room and gives itself a headache ramming against the window trying to get out – even if all it had to do was move a little to the left to leave! The fly is, nonetheless, important to the ecosystem.
Perhaps the reason flies are so important to the ecosystem is also why they are seen so negatively. Flies are what are known as ‘decomposers’, which means that they eat dead organisms and help break them down. Think of it like ‘recycling’ the nutrients that are left from a dead body, allowing them to cycle back into the environment.
But it is this ‘yuk’ role that is responsible for much of the negative press they receive. Flies are often used as symbols of impurity, decay and death, as dead bodies attract large swarms of them. This view of flies on a subconscious level may make us see them as unfavourable, and the fact they buzz around our food does not help!
However, these pesky pests are only second to bees in terms of their pollination prowess. Flies are important pollinators for lots of our favourite foods – including strawberries, avocadoes, mangoes and chocolate. (That got you in!) Flies are just as vital for our food production as bees, and play an important role in our favourite foods.
The bat is another that has had negative public relations in historical and recent times. Many cultures and mythologies invoke bats as symbols of demons and vampires. Of course, Western culture is familiar with the bat as vampire. In Mayan mythology there is a bat god called Camazotz, which translates to ‘death bat’. The Philippines has a monster called a Manananggal, a vampiric creature with bat wings, a human body as top half, and no lower half all. China has been the kindest towards this pollinator, where bats can symbolise the Wufu, or the five blessings of health, long life, prosperity, love of virtue and a peaceful, natural death. It has to be said that even in the kindest metaphor, bats are still burdened by the symbolism of death in the last blessing.
The diversity and broad geographical distribution of bats, the ubiquitous shedding of coronaviruses from bat populations and the interactions of viruses facilitate their zoonotic capacity. However, these pathogens cannot cause outbreaks in humans unless the conditions for spillover and onward transmission are met. In a funny twist, the key to battling so many diseases may be in the DNA of the animal known for spreading them.
Nevertheless, bat pollination is so important, there is a scientific term for it – chiropterophily. Many plants have adaptations that make them reliant on bats. There are 250 genera of plants that bats pollinate, including agave and wild banana species. Bats also pollinate mangoes, guava and durian.
Anyone who likes smoothies, Tequila (or the horrific concoctions both those drinks mixed together make!) should be thanking bats. As bats are bigger and furrier than insects, they can carry more pollen, and so are efficient pollinators – albeit, with a bad reputation.
Finally – the wasp, the bee’s ‘evil cousin’. Both insects are important pollinators, but while one is known to die after it tries to sting you (the bee), the other is known to swarm and sting and scare. While bees have seen a lot of affection lately, you would find it hard to find anyone thinking about starting a wasp farm. Usually people have the opposite view and consider hiring an exterminator to try and remove wasp hives.
While this is certainly not without reason (wasps have been known to kill people) the point does illustrate that humans actively remove these creatures from our environment. Which leads human society into a bit of an ironic situation. We want to save the bees because they are important to the environment, but are willing to destroy wasps that are also important even if it means the bee would need to do the pollination work of two species.
What needs to temper our negative view towards wasps is the consideration that they are important pollinators. Wasps help pollinate many fruits and vegetables, especially figs. Even self-pollinating plants like tomatoes are benefitted by wasps, despite them not being needed to transfer the pollen. Parasitic wasps lay eggs on caterpillars that eat parts of the tomato plant, and in doing so, help protect the fruit. Ironically, the aggression we characterise them as having, also serves an important purpose in protecting vital crops.
So, the pollinator punchline is that the sooner we begin to recognise the good and the bad is the sooner we can help stabilise all pollinator populations.