Night Pollinators: How Moths help the Himalayas

Pollination is a process to transfer pollen grains from stamen to stigma. This process is done by various pollinating agents like water, wind, birds, insects etc. In Northeast India’s Himalayan environment, moths are essential for the pollination. The study established that 91 species of moths are pollinators of 21 different species of plants in Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim in the north-eastern Himalayas.

Erebidae (tiger moths, erebid moths, lichen moths, etc) and Geometridae (geometer moths) were found to be the Himalayan region’s most important families of moths for pollen transportation. It was also found that moths also frequently interacted with Fabaceae, Betulaceae, Ericaceae, and Rosaceae which fall under the category of the wind-pollinated plant family.

The study has also found out that Achaea janata which is a well-known pest of numerous important plants was found as a potential pollinator of three plant families, which shows that moths can provide benefits as pollinators even when functioning as larval herbivores.

The study has shown the importance that moths play in the nature.

By Gajera International School, Utran

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