Impact of Climate Change on Insect Pollination

Abstract : Self- and Cross-pollinations (Auto- and Allogamy) are the two kinds of pollination in flowers. Cross-pollination is brought out by external agents like insects, rodents, bats, birds, wind and water. The Entomophily or insect pollination which was evident from the 100 million year old amber fossils is of wide occurrence in modern time. Around 80% of the modern flowering plant species are insect pollinated. Insects such as Bees, Butterflies, Beetles, Thrips and Flies are the well known pollinators of wild, agricultural and horticultural plant species. The Climate Change caused by accumulating atmospheric Green House Gases (GHG) such as Carbon-dioxide, rising Global Temperature, abnormal precipitation and drought, etc. seem to change the phenology of both flowering plants and insect pollinators thereby reducing the efficiency of the latter in pollination. Further, reductions in the insect population and flower production, the other impacts of climate change, will have a direct effect on pollination. The adverse consequence of the pollinatory role of the major group of pollinators, the insects, will certainly have a more negative impact on the agricultural, horticultural and other plant production and that will in turn affect the global economy in future.