Write a short note on Entomophily.
Answers
Entomophilous flowers are the flowers which are pollinated by insects. Many insects act as pollinators, particularly bees, Lepidopterans(moths and butterflies), wasps, flies, ants and beetles. Entomophilous plant species have evolved various mechanisms to make themselves more appealing to insects, e.g. brightly colored flowers, nectar or appealing shapes and patterns. In some cases they may also have an attractive scent which mimics insect pheromones. Insect pollinators also have various adaptations for their role like bees have sucking type of mouth parts to take in nectar and some species have pollen baskets on their hind legs. The pollinating insects are usually hairy(so that pollen adhere to their body) and they spend time exploring the flower so that they come in contact with the reproductive structures.Some plant species co-evolved with a particular pollinator species, such as the bee orchid. The plant attracts these insects by producing a scent that mimics the scent of the female bee. In addition, the lip acts as a decoy, as the male bee confuses it with a female that is visiting a pink flower. Pollen transfer occurs during the ensuing pseudocopulation. E.g. Salvia, Hibiscus, Helianthus, Ficus carica, Calotropis and Orchids etc.
Answer:
Anemophily or wind pollination is a form of pollination whereby pollen is distributed by wind. Anemophilous plants may be either gymnosperms (non-flowering) or angiosperms (flower-producing). However, flowering anemophilous species do not develop scented flowers, nor do they produce nectar. This distinguishes them from entomophilous and zoophilous species (whose pollen is spread by insects and vertebrates respectively).
Male and female reproductive organs are generally found in separate flowers, the male flowers having a number of long filaments terminating in exposed stamens, and the female flowers having long, feather-like stigmas.
Pollen from anemophilous plants tends to be smaller and lighter in weight than pollen from entomophilous ones, with very low nutritional value to insects. However, insects sometimes gather pollen from staminate anemophilous flowers at times when higher protein pollens from entomophilous flowers are scarce.