Moths are more important for pollination than we thought

Time-lapse cameras are uncovering how crucial night-time visits from moths are for pollinating red clover, a valuable forage crop

By Gary Hartley

Spying on the nocturnal visits of moths to plants has exposed the insects’ overlooked role in pollination.

Using 15 time-lapse cameras, Jamie Alison at Aarhus University in Denmark and his colleagues have recorded what happens in a meadow in the Swiss Alps, 24 hours a day, over a whole summer. The team has found that moths account for 34 per cent of visits to red clover (Trifolium pratense), a wildflower that is a valuable forage crop for …