Honey bees are heaped with positive buzz for their pollinating efforts - but researchers have just found there are plenty of other insects that deserve just as much praise.
A new study, published today in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, has shown how insects like flies, beetles, butterflies, moths - and even wasps - are just as important in pollinating flowers, a service vital for crop production.
Scientists from New Zealand's Plant and Food Research assisted researchers from 18 countries in analysing honey bee, other bee and non-bee insect visits to 480 fields of 17 different crop types on five continents.
They found that total pollination services provided - based on visitation frequency and pollen deposition per visit - was the same for honey bees and non-bee insects (38 per cent), with around a quarter of services (23 per cent) provided by other bees.
Further, fruit and seed set of crops was enhanced by increased visitation by non-bees and other bees, but not honey bees.