Bees are not the only pollinators in Australia and the world, there’s a whole range of unique and diverse insects and animals who without them, plants just wouldn’t be able to survive!

The most well known of the pollinators is the bee and there are many different types of bees including wild honey bees, managed honey bees and native bees, however to rely on one type of pollinator would be risky, so it’s important that we highlight other very important Australian plant pollinators.

The most common Australian plant pollinators are flies, beetles, moths, butterflies, wasps, ants, spiders, birds and bats and each of them is essential to the survival of the planet.

Humans are key to their survival and we need to change the way we think about insects in our gardens.

• Use pesticides as a very last resort or not at all
• Encourage insects by creating flowering insect corridors – grow flowers that attract bees, native bees and butterflies.
• If you are using yellow sticky traps for fruit fly, always put them in a cage to prevent small birds from sticking to them.
• Encourage birds by providing a bird bath or shallow water bowl,
• Create a pond to encourage dragonflies and frogs
• Plant powerful pollinator plants in your garden.

The Wheen Bee Foundation has put together a fantastic powerful pollinator guide for the Sydney Basin Coastal NSW:

https://www.wheenbeefoundation.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/SF001-O-15.1-Pollinators-8pp-Sydney-Basin-Coastal.pdf

Did you know?

The smallest pollinator in the world is a Perdita minima, a bee which is just less than 2mm long.

The black-and-white ruffed lemur is the largest pollinator in the world! These lemurs are the primary pollinator of the Travellers tree which they have to reach in to each flower with their long snout and tongue.

Some examples of powerful pollinator plants are shown below:-