Pollination

The transfer of pollen to where the ovary is -- stigma (in angiosperms) or micropyle (in gymnosperms[?]) -- is called pollination, a process which requires pollinators as the carrier agents who pollinate the female flower:

• Mostly insects, e.g, bees, very common. See section "Bee pollination" below.

  A Madagascan[?] orchid requires a moth with a 30-cm tongue

• Birds, e.g. Hummingbird
• Bats
• Wind

  Needed by Sweet chestnut[?]

• Water

  Needed by Ribbonweed[?]

To attract pollinators, some flowers, such as sunflower, when viewed under ultraviolet light as seen by honeybees, have a darker centre, where the pollens are.

Pollinations are divided into:

• Cross-pollination: pollen is delivered to another flower
• Self-pollination: pollen travels to the female part of the genetically same flower, which is usually itself, but can also be a clone

Bee pollination

Bees travel from flower to flower, collecting nectar (converted to honey later), and in the process picking up pollen. The bee collects the pollen by rubbing against the grains. The pollen is stored at his hind legs, in dense hair referred to as a pollen basket[?]. As the bee flies from flower to flower, the pollen from male flowers eventually falls into the stigma of the female flower, producing seeds.