Isn’t pollen just… pollen? Why can’t native birds/bees/butterflies benefit from the pollen of invasive flowers?
In: Biology
Because saying it’s just pollen is like saying it’s just food. If you’re a generalist and eat anything at anytime, that’s just more food for you.
But if you’re allergic to peanuts and all the food is snickers bars, pad thai, and PBJs, you’re going to starve or die. Some pollen is actually toxic to some species of pollinators.
Or maybe someone put the food in a jar you can’t open or a shelf you can’t reach. Pollinators vary in how long their tongues are, so a short tongued pollinator needs a particularly shaped flower to get any nectar.
Maybe you work the night shift and rely on there being restaurants like Waffle House open at 5am. If the Waffle Houses suddenly get replaced by brunch restaurants, you have to go elsewhere and expend more energy. Some pollinators have their life cycle timed to when certain plants bloom. For example, some bees eat only blueberry pollen. If the blueberry plants get displaced by a plant that blooms later, there’s nothing for them to eat when they wake up.
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