Pollination Demystified: An Ecologist's Guide to Supporting Nature in Your Own Backyard

For many, the word "pollinator" immediately brings to mind buzzing bees and graceful butterflies. But what if we told you the world of pollination is far richer and more complex than you might imagine? We recently had the opportunity to speak with Vikram, an ecologist currently pursuing his PhD at IISER Mohalli, to shed light on this fascinating topic, his expertise as an ecologist offered valuable insights.

Planting for Pollinators: It's All About Location, Location, Location!

When it comes to choosing the right plants to attract pollinators, especially for urban settings like balconies and terraces, Vikram stresses a crucial point: the answer heavily depends on your location within India. He highlights the concept of "eco-regions", distinct geographical areas with unique plant species compositions.

Vikram refers to the Ecological Restoration Alliance's user-friendly map, which divides India into approximately 33 to 35 eco-regions. While some plant species, like the silk cotton tree (semal in Hindi), have a wide range and can be found across multiple ecoregions, the ideal approach is to select plants native to your specific ecoregion. The assumption is that by planting the right native species, the appropriate local pollinators will be attracted.

He acknowledges that scientific knowledge regarding specific plant-pollinator interactions in India is still incomplete. While information about certain plants attracting particular butterflies exists, it's often myopic because any other plant species might also attract those same butterflies, and some plants might even attract undocumented butterfly species in a region.

Therefore, Vikram advises that in this scenario of knowledge gaps, planting something native to your ecoregion is generally the best bet, with the hope that the relevant pollinators will arrive.

Beyond Bees and Butterflies: A Diverse Cast of Pollinators

While bees and butterflies are well-known pollinators, Vikram broadens our understanding of who else plays this vital role.

• Bees: India has three native honeybee species: Apis serrana indica, Apis dorsata, and Apis floria. The introduced European honeybee, Apis mellifera, is commonly reared commercially. Beyond honeybees, numerous non-honey making bees exist, including solitary bees that live in burrows or wood, and bumblebees and carpenter bees like the large, blue-colored Xylocopa.

• Moths: Many white-colored flowers and night-blooming flowers are pollinated by moths. An example given is the Bakul tree (Morsary tree).

• Bats: A significant and often discriminated-against category of pollinators, bats pollinate quite a few flower species in India, especially those that are night-blooming and specialized for bat pollination.

• Beetles: Many flowers close to the ground are pollinated by beetles.

• Other Insects: Interestingly, some flowers are even pollinated by tiny weevils.

Vikram Iyer, currently pursuing his PhD at IISER Mohalli.

Vikram emphasizes that a wide variety of animals can be pollinators. He also makes an important distinction: the plants that butterflies and moths feed on for nectar (nectarine species) might be different from the plants where they lay their eggs (host species for caterpillars).

He touched upon a practical concern for urban gardeners: while attracting pollinators, one might not want bats or moths in their living space. However, Vikram clarified that the plant that attracts an adult butterfly or moth is not necessarily the same plant that attracts its caterpillar.

Resources for Your Pollinator Garden

While specific plant-pollinator pairings are still being extensively studied in India, Vikram's insights offer a clear path forward. For small-scale urban planting, such as a few pots on a balcony, the relative proportions of species matter less; any appropriate native plant should be beneficial.

Thanks to the resources shared by Vikram, I was able to look up the city of Delhi and understand its eco-regions. Upon conducting research I found that delhi is divided mainly into two eco-regions:

Ecological Restoration Alliance's Delhi Eco-Region Map Sourced from their website.

1. Aravalli West Thorn Scrub Forests ( In red)

Location: Northwestern India, along the ancient Aravalli mountain range (central ridge, west delhi)

Age of Formation: >1,500 million years

Climate:

• Dry

• Rainfall: 750 mm (north) to 950 mm (south) annually

Vegetation Type:

• Xerophytic (dry-adapted), thorny forest

• Dominated by Acacia species (< 6 m tall) (these cannot be planted in a balcony garden, as trees they require larger spaces)

• Other trees/shrubs: Prosopis cineraria, Grewia, Zizyphus (Indian Ber), Salvadora (toothbrush tree, Miswak) , Anogeissus, Gardenia, Capparis (capers), Carissa

• Climbers: Tragia, Rivea, Tinospora (Giloy), Vitis, Peristrophe

2. Upper Gangetic Plains Moist Deciduous Forests (in Green)

Location: Fertile alluvial plains of the Ganga River (East Delhi, etc)

Topography: Flat with some ravines and riverbanks

Soil: Deep alluvial deposits on floodplains

Human Impact:

• Densely populated

• Heavily cleared and cultivated

Vegetation Type:

• Moist deciduous forest

• Dominated by Sal (Shorea robusta)

• Associates: Terminalia, Lagerstroemia, Adina, Dillenia, Ficus

List of Native Vegetation:

Thanks to Ecological Restoration Alliance for sharing this list of shrubs.

• Colebrookea oppositifolia: Indian Squirrel Tail

• Desmodium gangeticum: Salparni, Sarivan

• Flacourtia indica: Indian plum, Governor's plum

• Flemingia chappar: Chappar

• Holarrhena antidysenterica: Kurchi, Indrajav

• Inula cuspidata: Jhuri

• Pogostemon plectranthoides: Bengal Shrub-Mint

• Randia uliginosa: Pindalu, Aquatic Randia, Divine Jasmine

• Zingiber roseum: Rosy ginger, Ornamental ginger

Do keep in mind that depending upon what you choose to plant you may need a bigger or a smaller pot, like for the Chappar, for instance, you will need a 5.0" pot needs and make sure you give it 0.8 cups of water every 9 days when it doesn't get direct sunlight.

You can also consider reading: A Naturalist'S Guide To The Trees & Shrubs Of India

A special thanks to the Ecological Restoration Alliance's Team for providing an exhaustive list of native trees, shrubs and plants from which I have consulted while researching for this piece.