Night work: Moths pollinate plants under cover of darkness

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tag-moth tag-pollination"> <header class="rows rows-gap"> <h1 class="entry-title row">Night work: Moths pollinate plants under cover of darkness</h1> <div class="row primary-image has-featured-image " data-featured-image="GettyImages-1143203636.jpg"> <img width="1200" height="675" src="data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHZpZXdCb3g9IjAgMCAxMjAwIDY3NSIgd2lkdGg9IjEyMDAiIGhlaWdodD0iNjc1IiBkYXRhLXU9IiUyRndwLWNvbnRlbnQlMkZ1cGxvYWRzJTJGMjAyMyUyRjA2JTJGR2V0dHlJbWFnZXMtMTE0MzIwMzYzNi5qcGciIGRhdGEtdz0iMTIwMCIgZGF0YS1oPSI2NzUiIGRhdGEtYmlwPSIiPjwvc3ZnPg==" data-spai="1" class="feature-image wp caption" alt="" loading="eager" decoding="async" fetchpriority="high" /><noscript data-spai="1"><img width="1200" height="675" src="https://cdn.shortpixel.ai/spai/q_lossy+ret_img+to_auto/cosmosmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/GettyImages-1143203636.jpg" data-spai-egr="1" class="feature-image wp caption" alt="" loading="eager" decoding="async" fetchpriority="high" srcset="https://cdn.shortpixel.ai/spai/q_lossy+ret_img+to_auto/cosmosmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/GettyImages-1143203636.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.shortpixel.ai/spai/q_lossy+ret_img+to_auto/cosmosmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/GettyImages-1143203636-600x338.jpg 600w, https://cdn.shortpixel.ai/spai/q_lossy+ret_img+to_auto/cosmosmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/GettyImages-1143203636-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.shortpixel.ai/spai/q_lossy+ret_img+to_auto/cosmosmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/GettyImages-1143203636-300x169.jpg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px" /></noscript> <div class="caption feature">An Elephant Hawk-moth perching on a pink bluebell / Credit: Sandra Standbridge via Getty Images</div> </div> </header> <div class="entry-content cols-6 md-cols-1 cols-gap-1 margin-top-1"> <div class="content-left-sidebar cols-1 col"> <section class="contributors md-cols-1 rows-gap"> <div class="row post-date"> <span class="published-date">June 5, 2023</span> </div> <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/contributor/petra-stock/" class="author row md-hide"> <img src="data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHZpZXdCb3g9IjAgMCAyMDQ0IDIwNDQiIHdpZHRoPSIyMDQ0IiBoZWlnaHQ9IjIwNDQiIGRhdGEtdT0iJTJGd3AtY29udGVudCUyRnVwbG9hZHMlMkYyMDIyJTJGMDclMkZwZXRyYS5qcGciIGRhdGEtdz0iMjA0NCIgZGF0YS1oPSIyMDQ0IiBkYXRhLWJpcD0iIj48L3N2Zz4=" data-spai="1" alt="Petra Stock" width="200" /><noscript data-spai="1"><img src="https://cdn.shortpixel.ai/spai/q_lossy+ret_img+to_auto/cosmosmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/petra.jpg" data-spai-egr="1" alt="Petra Stock" width="200" /></noscript> <div class="bio"> <h3>Petra Stock</h3> </div> </a> <div id="author-name" class="hide"> <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/contributor/petra-stock/" class="bio"> By Petra Stock </a> </div> <div class="favourite__wrapper row cols"> <button class="showDialog simplefavorite-button" aria-label="Favourite button"> </button> </div> </section> </div> <div class="primary-content cols-1 col-span-5 col"> <div class="flexible-content "> <div class="copy"> <p><a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/nature/animals/shadowy-world-of-nocturnal-moth-pollinators/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Moths</a> play a crucial but little appreciated role in pollinating crops, flowers and trees in urban areas, accounting for up to a third of all pollination, new research from the University of Sheffield shows.</p> <p>The United Kingdom-based study published in <em>Ecology Letters</em> shows moths carry more pollen than previously thought, visiting significantly different plant communities to bees.</p> <p>Dr Stuart Campbell from the University of Sheffield and co-author of the study, says researchers used DNA sequencing to identify the pollens stuck to night-flying moths when visiting flowers.</p> <p>“We found that moths are probably pollinating a range of plant species, many of them wild, that are unlikely to be pollinated by bees – and vice versa,” he says. </p> <div class="in-content-area related-box-wrapper content-third content-right margin-bottom-1"> <div class="gradient-title">Read More</div> <ul class="related-box article-listing"> <li class="cols"> <div class="article article-post"> <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/nature/amoty/grey-headed-flying-fox-amoty/" class="thumbnail ar-16-9" aria-label="Article link"> <span data-spai-bg-on="1" class="image" style="background-image: url(data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHZpZXdCb3g9IjAgMCAxMjAwIDY3NSIgd2lkdGg9IjEyMDAiIGhlaWdodD0iNjc1IiBkYXRhLXU9Imh0dHBzJTNBJTJGJTJGY29zbW9zbWFnYXppbmUuY29tJTJGd3AtY29udGVudCUyRnVwbG9hZHMlMkYyMDIyJTJGMDclMkZHcmV5LWhlYWRlZC1mbHlpbmctZm94Li1XaXRoLUFNT1RZLWJvcmRlci4tQ3JlZGl0LUNyYWlnUkpELUdldHR5LUltYWdlcy0xMjAwLmpwZyIgZGF0YS13PSIxMjAwIiBkYXRhLWg9IjY3NSIgZGF0YS1iaXA9IiI+PC9zdmc+)"></span> </a> <div class="article-content has-very-light-grey-background-color"> <a href="/nature/amoty/"> <span class="category nature-color"> Australian Mammal of the Year </span> </a> <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/nature/amoty/grey-headed-flying-fox-amoty/"> <h3>Grey-headed flying-fox: Australia’s super-pollinator</h3> </a> </div> </div> </li> </ul> </div> <p>Moths are known to frequent pale and fragrant flower species, but the study also shows moths visit a range of tree and fruit crops.</p> <p>Lead author, Dr Emilie Ellis previously from the University of Sheffield, now based at the University of Helsinki says, “as moths and bees both rely on plants for survival, plant populations also rely on insects for pollination”.</p> <a href="https://link.cosmosmagazine.com/OP59" class="newsletter-cta" data-device="mobile"> <img decoding="async" 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often be overlooked compared to bees when talking about protection and conservation, but it’s becoming apparent that there needs to be a much more focused effort to raise awareness of the important role moths play in establishing healthy environments, especially as we know moth populations have drastically declined over the past 50 years,” she says.</p> <p>While bees are best known for their role supporting plant communities, many species including moths, birds, <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/nature/amoty/grey-headed-flying-fox-amoty/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">bats</a> and small mammals all play a role pollinating plants.</p> <iframe src="https://omny.fm/shows/huh-science-explained/bees-can-tell-the-time-and-do-maths-yes-you-read-t/embed?in_playlist=podcast&style=Cover" width="100%" height="180" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write" frameborder="0" title="Bees can tell the time and do maths (Yes, you read that right) 🐝"></iframe> <p>The University of Sheffield study has implications for wildlife-friendly gardening initiatives, urban planners and policy makers responsible for developing urban green spaces for parks or urban horticulture.</p> <p>“Protecting urban green spaces and ensuring they are developed in such a way that moves beyond bee-only conservation but also supports a diverse array of wildlife, will ensure both bee and moth populations remain resilient and our towns and cities remain healthier, greener places,” Ellis says.</p> <div class="advert ad-in-content ad-mobile auh-250"><div id="adn-00000000001fc2ca-i1p0" style="display: none"></div></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; padding: 20px;"><a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/subject-specific-newsletters/"><p align="center"><img decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-198773" 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Night work: Moths pollinate plants under cover of darkness