Name: カニ、ゴキブリ、蜂ではない3つの他の受粉者 (Crabs, Cockroaches, and 3 Other Pollinators That Aren't Bees)
Uploaded: 2021-01-14T10:57:45.000Z
Duration: 11 min 13 s
Description: VoiceTubeの動画で発音を聞きながら英語表現を覚えよう！学べる英語：

Ah, spring. Plants are sprouting, flowers are blooming,

and you know what that means: bees and pollination!

But bees aren't the only pollinators out there.

In fact, we're often so caught up in our love of our stripey friends

that we overlook some of the other, more surprising pollinators.

And it's not just that they're unconventional, either:

Each gives us a unique example of how the relationship

between pollinators and plants evolved in the first place.

So, here are five pollinators that aren't bees.

Pollinators are important for plants because

they move pollen from the male flowers to female ones.

Basically, they're taking the plant equivalent of sperm

and moving it to the part of the plant that contains the ovaries.

After that, a plant can make seeds or fruit that grow to become new plants.

In some cases, this process can happen by wind or rain.

But animal pollination helps make sure pollen gets spread from plant to plant

and not accidentally to the same plant, which would lead to inbreeding.

And when animals are involved, that's when things get interesting.

They use their long snouts to burrow in soil or leaf litter

in search of insects, berries, or plant shoots.

Then, they flick their tongues to send that food into their mouths,

But their distinctive look is also perfect for getting the nectar deep inside flowers.

Which they do, thanks to their sweet cravings.

When elephant shrews go for the nectar, pollen gets buried in their snout fur,

which they then transfer to other flowers during their next meal.

Scientists have confirmed that elephant shrews pollinate a bunch of flowers

including the Pagoda lily and Northern vampire cup.

And not only have the shrews evolved snouts that are great at getting inside flowers,

the flowers have evolved ways to make sure the shrews get a good dusting of pollen.

The pagoda lily flower, for example, is long and curved,

so the elephant shrew has to wiggle its snout inside to get at the nectar.

Meanwhile, other flowers have evolved ways

to get mammals like the shrews interested in them in the first place.

Like, the northern vampire cup has two chemicals called 3-hexanone

and 1-hexen-3-one in its nectar that work together to lure animals in.

3-hexanone gives foods a sweet, rummy smell and taste,

so it might signal to mammals that the nectar is full of sugary energy.

And while it isn't clear what 1-hexen-3-one does,

scientists think it might help repel animals that aren't pollinators,

In any case, elephant shrews get a sugary snack, and the plant gets pollinated.

And that's the kind of win-win relationship pollination is all about.

Sometimes, it's not the sugar, but the water in nectar that pollinators are after.

This spotted lizard is native to a group of Brazilian islands,

and it's what you might call an opportunistic eater.

It can be found foraging on the ground in search of food, ranging from eggs,

to bits of bird and fish carcass, to human leftovers like cookie crumbs.

it will venture up trees in search of something juicer and sweeter.

On its home islands of Fernando de Noronha,

that something is the nectar from mulungu tree flowers.

And while it's sidled up to these blooms,

the lizard can't help but get bits of pollen stuck in its scales.

Then, as the skink wanders from flower to flower, it drags the pollen with them.

Part of the reason lizards are so enticed by the nectar is that the mulungu tree flowers

during the dry period, when there's not much water on the island.

In fact, the nectar is pretty diluted compared to other species of Brazilian trees,

making it a great thirst-quencher for the lizards, and other animals, including some birds!

Now, you might be thinking it's kind of strange to have lizards pollinating flowers.

But now, they believe lizards might play a more important role

in pollination on islands than previously thought.

That's because, on islands, lizard populations

can grow to much higher numbers than on the mainland,

thanks to a lower risk of being picked off by predators.

That lower predation risk also means lizards can spend more time looking for

exotic foods to include in their diet, like nectar, pollen, and fruit.

Now, scientists want to know more about the relationship between lizards and flowers,

especially things like if they evolved together,

or if the flowers have some special way to attract these animals.

Cockroaches probably conjure up images of pest control vans, not pollination.

But there are at least two species of them that act as pollinators

in the tropics of South Malaysia and French Guiana in South America.

One is called A. platystylata, and it's a fan of tropical Clusia trees

because of a liquid it gets from the base of the petals.

The liquid isn't especially appetizing, it's not sweet like nectar,

but it might have some resin in it that the roaches can use for making their nests.

And when they're rummaging in Clusia flowers, maybe for those building materials,

these cockroaches pick up pollen on their rough bodies and transport it between flowers.

Kind of like with the northern vampire cup in our first example,

Clusia flowers even produce a scent that's appealing to these roaches to lure them in,

which shows that the plants could have evolved to attract these insects specifically.

Meanwhile, the other roach pollinator, called H. palliata,

does seem to get some food reward from the flowers it pollinates.

It munches on pollen from a species of woody climber plant in Costa Rican rainforests,

which gives the insect the protein it needs to grow and reproduce.

So far, these are the only two confirmed roach pollinators, but in mid-2017,

scientists in Chile uncovered evidence of a possible third one, called M. brevipennis,

feeding on nectar and pollen from evening primrose and puya trees.

This insect may have become an accidental pollinator while looking for

a damp place to lay its eggs, but at this point, scientists aren't 100% sure.

After all, you have to watch these insects really closely

to make sure that they are in fact spreading pollen to other flowers.

But it's something researchers are planning to do soon.

Usually when we think about animal pollination, we think about it on land.

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カニ、ゴキブリ、蜂ではない3つの他の受粉者 (Crabs, Cockroaches, and 3 Other Pollinators That Aren't Bees)

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