…at least if you are a Kangaroo Paw, seeking effective pollinators,
All Kangaroo Paw species primarily rely on birds; for them, bees are “useless”.
Kangaroo Paws are not alone in relying on vertebrate pollinators; in this respect, Australia’s southwest is the world leader.
And many West Australian plants that do rely on insect pollinators are “liars” – plants pretending to be “receptive” insects!
Around 15% of Southwest WA’s endemic flowering plants are pollinated via vertebrates, not insects.
That is by far the highest proportion, anywhere.
For most of the relevant WA plants, it is not a case of “birds or bees – either could do the job”.
Rather, it is “birds required”, and/or “small, nectar-eating mammals required”.
Click here to see honey possums “in action” on a WA Eucalypt, and click this to see a bird doing exactly what a Kangaroo Paw wants it to do.
A little printed explanation from Bronwyn Ayre is here; or you may prefer to hear a conversation with her.
Species that rely on vertebrate pollinators are particularly vulnerable to habitat destruction; they comprise a disproportionately high proportion of southwestern Australia’s endangered plants.
“Sexual deception” – fooling an insect, usually just one particular species, into mistaking a flower for a potential mate – is a strategy adopted by some orchids, worldwide.
However, here too, WA is the world leader; more than half of the more than 400 known WA orchid species are “deceivers”.
One example is detailed here.
