[Pollinator] Smallest to biggest pollinator?

[Peter Bernhardt]

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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