Although this handbook principally concerns honey bees and beekeeping, pollinating agents other than honey bees should be mentioned and their relative value considered. Wind probably is the most important pollinating agent, insofar as it benefits our existence. The flowers of most wind-pollinated plants are either male or female. The male flowers produce an abundance of pollen to be carried by the wind. The female flowers usually have large stigmatic areas to receive the pollen.
Corn is a good example of a wind-pollinated crop.
Birds of several different species feed upon nectar, pollen, or insects in some flowers and serve as pollinators. None is of significance in pollinating our cultivated crops. Their visits are confined largely to deep-throated, usually showy wild flowers. Insects of many species visit flowers and pollinate them. These include bees, wasps, moths, butterflies, beetles, thrips, and midges.