Unsung Heroes of Pollination shows the reader a hidden world of pollination, where flies, wasps, mosquitoes, bats and beetles take centre stage. Naturalists, gardeners, citizen scientists and flower enthusiasts are invited to journey into the undergrowth, following Professor Peter Bernhardt and a cast of scientists across Australia, the USA, South Africa, China and Fiji.
Leaving the familiar birds and bees behind, Bernhardt uncovers stories of reward, cooperation and deception between plants and animals. The author also pays homage to an earlier generation of naturalists who first investigated these unusual relationships during the first half of the 20th century. He explores how flowers have evolved in structure and function, and how pollination systems have emerged and diversified over time. Discover the remarkable 'fit' between animal senses and floral signals, and see how flowers advertise their secret rewards. Stunning colour plates bring you face-to-face with overlooked pollinators and their flowers – from an amber fossil of the bee-like crabronid wasp that flew millions of years ago, and a modern chloropid gnat wearing an orchid's pollinia on its back, to the elaborate lip petals of hammer orchids luring male wasps, and the long tongue of a tube-lipped nectar bat reaching for its prize.
This is a captivating glimpse into the wonders of an unseen – and unsung – world.
"This is Dr Bernhardt at his most exuberant, combining personal anecdote with trademark scientific rigour to unveil the enduring love affair between flower and pollinator. Orchids and insects play a starring role as Bernhardt – with his abiding enthusiasm for botany, a swag of candid reflections from a research and writing career spanning five decades, and whimsy to spare – travels the world on our behalf."
– Professor Tim Entwisle, botanist and author