Moths vital to pollination in the Himalayan ecosystem, finds study

The findings are important as the role of nocturnal pollinators have so far received less scientific attention

Moths are vital to pollination in the Himalayan ecosystem of northeast India, reveals a recent study. The study establishes 91 species of moths as potential pollinators of 21 plant families in Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh in the northeastern Himalayas.

The results assume significance as a majority of the pollination-related studies are based on diurnal pollinators (bees and butterflies) and the role of nocturnal pollinators have so far received less scientific attention.

The details of the study were recently published in a paper titled “ Settling moths are the vital component of pollination in Himalayan ecosystem of North‑East India, pollen transfer network approach revealed” in Scientific Reports, a publication from the Nature group of journals.

“In the present study about 65% moths (91 species) carried sufficient quantities of pollen grains to be considered as potential pollinators. Teliphasa sp. (Crambidae) and Cuculia sp. (Noctuidae) are found to carry the highest quantity of pollen,” the paper reads.

Navneet Singh, lead author of the study, said that  Geometridae (geometer moths) and Erebidae (erebid moths, tiger moths, lichen moths, among others ) turned out to be the most important moth families for pollen transportation in the Himalayan region.

“We also found frequent interaction of moths with Betulaceae, Fabaceae, Rosaceae and Ericaceae . Though the Betulaceae is predominantly a wind-pollinated plant family, some recent studies indicate that wind-pollinated plant families also benefit from enhanced dispersal by insects,” Dr. Singh, who is associated with the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI), added

Another interesting outcome of the study is that the moth species  Achaea janata (a well-known pest of various economically important plants) was identified as a potential pollinator of three plant families, indicating that moths can provide net benefits as pollinators even when acting as larval herbivores of the same species.