A seed plant must be pollinated to produce seeds. In fact, plants have evolved various means to ensure that pollination takes place.
Pollination involves a process whereby pollen grain produced by the male part of a flower is transferred to the female part of the same species.
Once the pollen grain reaches the right spot on the flower, a process starts that will bring about fertilisation and the production of a seed.
To ensure that they are light enough to be carried by insects or by air, pollen grains are dehydrated and, before they start the actual process that leads to reproduction, they must first absorb water.
Some plants have what is known as abiotic pollination, that is pollination that takes place without animals being involved. These plants usually rely on wind to carry the pollen from one flower to another. Grasses and conifers use wind pollination.
A small number of aquatic plants release the pollen directly into the water which then carries the pollen to its final destination.
Abiotic pollination is very wasteful, however, and these species must produce large quantities of pollen to ensure that enough reach their target.
On the other hand, there is biotic pollination which involves the use of animals, usually insects. Bees, bumblebees, beetles, butterflies, moths and flies are the most common carriers of pollen.
Having said this, some plants rely on reptiles, birds or mammals. Animals tend to visit flowers of the same species and thus are more likely to transfer the pollen to the right plant.
To increase the chance of fertilisation, plants have evolved a diversity of strategies to attract animal pollinators. Usually they have large, coloured petals and are scented to attract insects. Flowers that are pollinated by nocturnal animals usually have large white flowers and are strongly scented.
There are about a quarter of a million species of flowering plants. These rely on between 100,000 and 200,000 species of animal pollinators. Many of these plants rely on just one species and, if this species becomes extinct, the plant naturally suffers the same fate.
Despite knowing this, no detailed study has ever been carried out to examine which species pollinate which plant in the Maltese islands.
It is, however, perhaps essential that such a study be carried out as this would form the basis on which conservationists would be able to maintain the present biodiversity of the Maltese islands.
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