Pollinators and our food

Many food crops only make fruit and seeds after insects have pollinated their flowers.

• Pollinators carry pollen from flower to flower. Bees do most of this work. Hoverflies, butterflies, moths and beetles help.
• Apples, cherries, almonds and pumpkins need insects. Wheat, rice and maize do not. The wind spreads maize pollen, and wheat and rice mostly pollinate themselves.
• Many wild pollinators are in decline. There are fewer wild flowers for them to feed on, and some pesticides harm them.