Are butterflies and moths pollinators?

Most butterflies are not good pollinators of flowers. Pollen does not regularly stick to their legs or tongue (proboscis) and the butterflies do not make proper contact with the flower's stigma. There are probably some notable exceptions to this such as the pollinia (a coherent mass of pollen grains often with a stalk bearing an adhesive disk that clings to insects) of the milkweed flowers sticking to the tongue and legs of Monarch butterflies.

Some moth species, however, are exceptional pollinators. Especially well known are the "hummingbird moths" of the Family Sphingidae.

You can find some really good resources about pollinators on our Teaching and Learning Tools page.