Today’s factoid: 88% of insect-pollinated flowers are pollinated by beetles. Much more in the tropics than in temperate zones, but it happens. This trout lily and soldier beetle species are demonstrating that it indeed does happen in Pennsylvania. Beetles, being generally more crawlers than a fliers, sort of lumber through, bodies smeared with pollen. They get the job done but not with elegance. Bees on the other hand are more efficient as pollinators, quickly flying from bloom to bloom. Honeybees, for example, will tend to visit one species exclusively during its bloom if enough are available. I would imagine this is more important for temperate zones where flowering opportunity is relatively brief due to the shorter optimal warm weather patterns compared to the tropics.
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