Insects as Pollinators Insects as Pollinators Insects provide a tremendous benefit in the pollination of plants. Many flowers require a visiting insect to transfer the pollen needed to fertilize and set seed. Bees, including the introduced honeybee, are the best known pollinators. However, many other insects such as flies, moths, butterflies and wasps also can be important.
Insect pollination is essential to production of many crops.
Crops such as apple, cherries, cantaloupes and peaches are almost entirely dependent on such insects as honeybees. Without the insects, these crops could not be grown. The pollination activity of bees annually provides benefits worth tens of millions of dollars to regional agriculture. Furthermore, many of the crops grown in the region, such as onions, carrots and alfalfa, require insect pollination to provide the seed that is used by farmers. Many of the native wildflowers also are dependent on insect pollination for their survival.