[Pollinator] [beemonitoring] Smallest to biggest pollinator? [1 Attachment]

[Beatriz Moisset]

Several mammals, including rodents and lemurs, are considered pollinators.
They are larger than bats.
http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Pollination#Pollination_by_other_mammals

Beatriz Moisset

> On Mar 14, 2016, at 7:56 PM, Peter Bernhardt bernhap2 at slu.edu [beemonitoring] <beemonitoring-noreply at yahoogroups.com> wrote:
> 
> [Attachment(s) from Peter Bernhardt included below]
> A nature photographer in Victoria, Australia has been contacting me about his progress to record the pollinators of midge orchids (Corunastylis and Genoplesium).  Take a look at the attached.  This is a scatopsid fly carrying the pollinia from two orchid flowers but you will see it's barely 1.5 mm long.
> 
> This made me wonder about pollinator dimensions.  Is this fly smaller than any of the known, female fig wasps that pollinate Ficus species?  What is the smallest pollinator?  Yes, I know there is a Perdita bee about 1 mm long but is it a true pollinator or a pollen/nectar thief?  What is the largest pollinator on this planet?  I would guess it must be one of the Pteropod fruit bats that also feeds on nectar and pollen, right?  The other option would have to be one of the noisy friar birds (Philemon; Meliphagidae) of Australia (about the size of a blue jay).  Once we get some answers perhaps it should go on the NAPPC web page or on a poster.  It's the sort of thing that would interest prospective members and educational bodies.  Everyone likes "gee-whiz" facts (especially when they are Youtube videos)
> 
> I've been measuring bee length, width and depth (top to bottom of thorax) for years as this is very important in the pollination of flowers showing bilateral symmetry.  It's like the tale of Goldilocks; too big, too small, just right.  Size of forager vs. floral dimensions can determine whether the floral visitor actually contacts male and female organs consistently (especially in orchids and milkweeds).  Look at the members of the Asteraceae (sunflowers, daisies, goldenrods).  Compacting lots of itty-bitty flowers together to resemble a great big flower (pseudanthium; a term introduced by Elmer Leppik) means that both big and little bees may have a similar opportunity to act as pollen taxis.
> 
> Peter Bernhardt, Prof. of Biology
> Saint Louis University, St. Louis, MO
> Research Assoc. The Missouri Botanical Garden, Saint Louis, MO
> Research Assoc.: The Royal Botanic Gardens and domain Trust, Sydney, NSW (Australia)
> 
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> Attachment(s) from Peter Bernhardt | View attachments on the web
> 1 of 1 Photo(s)
> 
> Today'sCatch.jpg
> Posted by: Peter Bernhardt <bernhap2 at slu.edu>
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