FAO - AGP - Pollination

Pollinators are an element of crop associated biodiversity, and provide an essential ecosystem service to both natural and agricultural ecosystems. In the case of agricultural ecosystems, pollinators and pollination can be managed ("planned" crop associated biodiversity) to maximize or improve crop quality and yield.

Pollination depends to a large extent on the symbiosis between species, the pollinated and the pollinator, and often is the result of intricate relationships between plant and animal - the reduction or loss of either affecting the survival of both. Many plants are wind pollinated, while animal pollinators include bees (over 25,000 bee species identified), and to a lesser extent butterflies, moths, flies, beetles and vertebrates (bats, squirrels, birds and some primates).

Approximately 90 percent of all flowering plant species are specialized for pollination by animals, mostly insects.