除了最常见的蜜蜂以外，蝙蝠、蝴蝶、飞蛾、蜂雀、家蝇和甲虫等也可以传递花粉。

如果我们的日常食品少了苹果、甜瓜、坚果、咖啡、浆果、牛油果、葵花子和巧克力，会出现什么情况。

我们能够享受这些和那些瓜果蔬菜，多亏了在花园和田地充当花粉媒介的使者。这些花粉使者身材娇小，终日忙碌，有助于各类植物的生长。它们在花丛中穿梭飞舞，寻寻觅觅采集花蜜，在这个过程中为植物传递花粉，增加营养，使植物结出丰硕的果实。除了最常见的蜜蜂以外，蝙蝠、蝴蝶、飞蛾、蜂雀、家蝇和甲虫等也可以传递花粉。

仅美国就有100多种经济作物的生产需要依靠蜜蜂。

为了促进地球的可持续性，保护我们的生态系统，可以采取以下方式为花粉使者提供帮助。

• 为传递花粉的动物改善和保护它们地栖息地。
• 减少强力化学杀虫剂的使用。
• 参与4月22日纪念地球日的活动。

图片由杜格尔德·斯特默（Dugald Stermer）于2009年制作。

Pollinators, those tiny, busy creatures that help plants reproduce, are an essential contributor to our food supply. Here are ways you can help pollinators and make for a more sustainable planet.

Imagine not including apples, melons, nuts, coffee, berries, avocados, sunflowers or chocolate in our diets.

For us to enjoy these and other fruits and vegetables, pollinators must be at work in our gardens and fields. Pollinators are those tiny, busy creatures that help plants reproduce. As they travel from bloom to bloom in search of nectar, they transfer the essential pollen, fertilizing each plant and enabling the plants to produce their fruits and flowers. In addition to the most prevalent pollinators, the bees, others include bats, butterflies, moths, hummingbirds, flies and beetles.

In the United States alone, commercial production of more than 100 crops depends on honeybees.

In our efforts to promote a more sustainable planet and to protect our ecosystems, there are some ways we can help the pollinators, including:

• Improve and protect the habitats of pollinating animals.
• Reduce the use of powerful chemical insecticides.
• Celebrate Earth Day April 22.

The image above was created for Earth Day 2009 by Dugald Stermer.