How to support 8 surprising pollinators in your Australian garden
Australia has thousands of animal species acting as plant pollinators. This includes wasps, flies, beetles, moths, possums, gliders, lizards and cockroaches alongside the bees, birds and butterflies we are familiar with. Most advice focuses on bees, which is understandable, given they are the pollinators of many food crops.
The common halfband hoverfly (common halfband hoverfly (Melangyna viridiceps) is one of Australia's most abundant and effective native pollinators — regularly overlooked because it does not fit the bee template most gardeners carry.
But it does mean that the many other species contributing to pollination in Australia are underrepresented. Understanding all the creatures doing the work in your garden changes how you think about what to plant, when to prune and what to leave alone.
The dusky knight butterfly (Ypthima arctous) — one of many Australian butterfly species whose garden presence depends on the availability of specific larval host plants as well as flowering nectar sources.
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Wasps
Unlike bees, wasps lack dense body hair for pollen transport, but they visit flowers regularly for nectar and carry pollen incidentally. For some plants, wasps are primary pollinators, and the relationship is specific enough that the plant has evolved to attract them specifically.
The banded sand wasp (Bembix palmata) is a ground-nesting native wasp and regular flower visitor — a reminder that open, well-drained soil in a sunny garden position supports pollinators as well as any flowering plant.
Thynnid wasps are the most important group. The males emerge from the ground and spend their early adult lives searching for mates. Several native orchids exploit this behaviour by mimicking the appearance, texture and chemical signature of female thynnid wasps. It is so precise that males attempt to mate with them, collecting and depositing pollen in the process.
The sunshine spider orchid (Caladenia versicolor) — one of several Australian native orchids that use chemical mimicry to attract thynnid wasps, offering no nectar reward in return.
Beyond sexual deception, many conventional flowering natives receive significant wasp pollination. Leptospermum (tea trees) and Acacia flowers, particularly the small, accessible pompom flowers are freely visited by paper wasps and spider wasps.
A paper wasp (Ropalidia sp.) — a regular visitor to native flowers for nectar, transferring pollen incidentally across open-structured Australian natives.
Kunzea species, whose open, shallow flowers present pollen accessibly are used by wasps that cannot access the deeper-structured flowers many bees prefer.
Scarlet kunzea (Kunzea baxteri) — the open, brush-like flowers present pollen accessibly to wasps, beetles and native bees, making it one of the most generalist pollinator plants in the Australian flora.
supporting wasps in your garden
| Best flowers | Open, accessible flowers — Kunzea, Leptospermum, Acacia, Callistemon |
| Habitat | Bare sunny soil for ground-nesting; dead wood and hollow stems for cavity-nesters |
| Active season | Spring and summer; some species through autumn |
| What to avoid | Broad-spectrum pesticides during flowering; disturbing bare soil in sunny positions |
Flies
Fly pollination is one of the most underestimated ecological relationships in Australian gardens. Flies are among the most abundant insects in the country and visit flowers constantly, but their contribution is not well known.
Hoverflies are among the most abundant and underappreciated pollinators in Australian gardens, visiting open-structured flowers in large numbers throughout the warmer months.
Hoverflies (family Syrphidae) are the most visible. They mimic bee and wasp colouring and hover at flowers in a purposeful way. Native wildflowers with open, flat or shallow flower structures like daisies and flannel flowers are heavily visited by hoverflies. Bee flies (family Bombyliidae) hover and dart in a similar way and are specialised flower visitors across a wide range of Australian plants.
A bee fly (family Bombyliidae) — these bee-mimicking flies hover with precision at flower faces and contribute to pollination across a wide range of open-structured Australian natives.
Boronia species are among the natives most strongly associated with fly pollination. The small, cup-shaped flowers and fermented-fruit fragrance of several species attract flies rather than bees.
Yellow boronia (Boronia sp.) — several boronia species produce a fermented or spicy fragrance that attracts flies and small wasps rather than bees.
Creamy candles (Stackhousia monogyna) also produces a scent profile that attracts flies and small wasps. Many Hibbertia species with their open yellow flowers are generalist insect attractors, receiving fly visits alongside bees and beetles.
Donald Hobern from Copenhagen, Denmark, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Creamy candles (Stackhousia monogyna) — the small, star-shaped flowers attract flies and small wasps alongside native bees; tolerant of poor soils and part shade.
Supporting flies in your garden
| Best flowers | Flat, open flowers — Brachyscome, Hibbertia, flannel flower; fermented-scent flowers like Boronia for blow flies |
| Habitat | Leaf litter and decomposing organic matter for larval development |
| Active season | Year-round; peak in spring and summer |
| What to avoid | Removing leaf litter; pesticide use near flowering plants |
Beetles
Beetle pollination is called cantharophily and is one of the oldest pollination relationships on earth. The flowers most associated with beetle pollination tend to be large, open and bowl-shaped or flat, with a strong fruity or spicy fragrance. The pollen is often produced in large quantities, since beetles eat it as much as they carry it.
The Botany Bay weevil (Chrysolopus spectabilis), one of Australia's most visually striking native beetles, feeds on Acacia foliage and flowers — a reminder that beetles interact with native plants across multiple life stages, not only as flower visitors.
Leptospermum, Kunzea and bottlebrush (Callistemon) all attract beetle visitors. Melaleuca flowers, with their dense brush structure and accessible pollen, are used by a range of beetle species. Members of the family Cerambycidae (longicorn beetles) are significant pollinators of several Australian plants and can often be found on Angophora and Eucalyptus flowers in summer. They are large enough and active enough at the flower surface to be efficient pollen carriers despite lacking the specialised structures of bees.
The golden stag beetle (Lamprima aurata) — adults feed on eucalyptus nectar and sap, carrying pollen incidentally on their smooth bodies; a garden with dead and dying eucalypts supports the larval stage that makes the adult pollinator possible.
Native Hibbertia species deserve particular attention here. Their open, yellow, pollen-rich flowers are structured for beetles and other generalist insects rather than for specialist bees, and in a garden they attract a surprisingly wide range of beetle visitors through spring and early summer.
Snake vine (Hibbertia scandens) — the open, yellow, pollen-rich flowers are structured for beetles and other generalist insects, making it one of the most reliably beetle-attracting climbers for east coast gardens.
Snake vine (Hibbertia scandens) and H. aspera are both reliable beetle-attracting climbers for east coast gardens.
Dwarf apple (Angophora hispida) — the open, accessible flowers of Angophora attract beetles, flies and native bees through early summer, with longicorn beetles particularly associated with this genus.
Supporting beetles in your garden
| Best flowers | Open, pollen-rich flowers — Hibbertia, Callistemon, Leptospermum, Kunzea |
| Habitat | Logs, leaf litter, stones; areas of undisturbed soil |
| Active season | Spring and summer; some species year-round |
| What to avoid | Double-flowered cultivars; removing dead timber and leaf litter |
Moths
While bees and butterflies work through the day and return to shelter at dusk, moths begin their foraging runs as the light fails and continue through the night. They visit flowers that many gardeners never see in bloom because they open after dark.
The mottled cup moth caterpillar (Doratifera vulnerans) — the larval stage of a native moth that as an adult will join the night shift of flower visitors; managing the full lifecycle of moths in a garden means tolerating caterpillars as well as welcoming adults.
White and pale-coloured flowers are overrepresented in the Australian flora. The reason is that white and cream flowers are visible at night in a way that blue, purple and red flowers are not, and many of them have evolved specifically to attract moths.
A hawk moth (family Sphingidae) — among the most effective pollinators of long, tubular native flowers, their extended proboscises reaching nectar inaccessible to shorter-tongued insects.
The fragrance of night-flowering plants also tends toward the heavy and sweet rather than the lighter, more complex scents of day-flowering species. Moths navigate by scent as much as by sight, and a strongly fragrant white flower is a highly effective moth attractant.
Wonga wonga vine (wonga wonga vine (Pandorea pandorana) — pale, tubular flowers with a fragrance that intensifies after dark, attracting hawk moths whose long proboscises suit the deep floral tube.
Pandorea jasminoides (bower vine) opens flowers in the evening and its jasmine-like fragrance intensifies after dark — a reliable indicator of moth pollination. Hoya australis, whose waxy white flowers produce a strong night fragrance, is significantly moth-pollinated in its natural east coast habitat. Senna species and several native Goodenia carry their flowers long into the evening and attract moth visits.
The giant wood moth (giant wood moth (Endoxyla cinereus), Australia's heaviest moth species — a night-flying adult that visits pale, fragrant native flowers after dark, illustrating why white and cream flowers are so disproportionately represented in the Australian flora.
Supporting moths in your garden
| Best flowers | White and pale fragrant flowers — Pandorea pandorana, Hoya australis, white Goodenia |
| Habitat | Dense shelter planting; bark and debris for pupation; host plants for caterpillars |
| Active season | Spring through autumn; some species through winter |
| What to avoid | Artificial light near the garden at night; removing caterpillars from host plants |
Possums and gliders
Pollen has been recorded on the fur, faces and feet of common brushtail possums, common ringtail possums and several glider species during field studies on Banksia, Grevillea and Eucalyptus flowers. These animals visit the flowers for nectar and for pollen as a protein source, and in doing so transfer pollen between trees and shrubs.
The honey possum (Tarsipes rostratus) is one of the most specialised mammal pollinators in the world — its diet is almost entirely nectar and pollen, and it is found only in south-west WA where its preferred plants occur.
The flowers most associated with possum pollination share characteristics with bird-pollinated flowers — large, robust, nectar-rich and positioned accessibly on the outer surface of the plant. Banksia species are the most strongly associated with possum visitation: the large, cylindrical flower spikes are well-suited to a possum's ability to grasp and feed from multiple flower positions in a single visit.
The eastern pygmy possum (Cercartetus nanus) feeds heavily on nectar and pollen through winter and spring, visiting Banksia, Grevillea and Eucalyptus flowers and transferring pollen between them.
The sugar glider is one of the most important small mammal pollinators in south-eastern Australia, feeding heavily on the nectar and pollen of Banksia, Grevillea, Hakea and Eucalyptus through winter and spring when insect activity is reduced. A garden with large, established native trees adjacent to remnant vegetation is the one most likely to receive glider visits. The guide to attracting wildlife to your garden covers the broader habitat requirements in more detail.
Sugar gliders are significant pollinators of Banksia, Grevillea and Eucalyptus through winter and spring — their visits transfer pollen across distances no insect pollinator can match.
supporting POSSUMS AND GLIDERS in your garden
| Best flowers | Large, robust, nectar-rich flowers — Banksia, Grevillea, large Eucalyptus and Angophora |
| Habitat | Mature trees with hollows or nest boxes; proximity to remnant vegetation |
| Active season | Year-round; sugar gliders most active as pollinators in winter and spring |
| What to avoid | Artificial light at night; removing hollow-bearing trees; cat and dog access |
Lizards
Australia has more documented cases of lizard pollination than any other continent. The relationship is most studied in south-western WA, where several plant species have been shown to receive pollination from skinks and geckos visiting flowers for nectar.
A fat-tailed gecko (Diplodactylus genus) — geckos are nocturnal flower visitors in WA and arid Australia, visiting pale, night-accessible flowers for nectar and carrying pollen between plants in a way that mirrors what honeyeaters do during the day.
Bloodroot (Haemodorum spicatum) is among the best-documented Australian examples of lizard pollination. The flowers are produced on upright stems in open, seasonally wet conditions in south-west WA — lizards foraging through the plant's base have been recorded as flower visitors.
Swan River pea (Gastrolobium celsianum) — several Gastrolobium species in WA have ground-accessible flower structures that are visited by lizards and geckos as well as insects.
Several Gastrolobium species in WA have similarly ground-accessible flower structures. In island environments like Kangaroo Island in SA where lizard diversity is high and mammal and insect pollinator diversity is reduced, lizard pollination has been documented across a broader range of plant families.
Lizard pollination is most active in gardens with leaf litter, rock cover and resident skink populations — conditions that most native gardens can provide without any specific intervention.
Supporting lizards in your garden
| Best flowers | Ground-accessible flowers; low-growing plants in warm, sheltered positions |
| Habitat | Flat basking stones; dense groundcover; leaf litter; areas of bare warm soil |
| Active season | Spring and summer when lizards are most active |
| What to avoid | Pesticide use; hard paving replacing groundcover; cat and dog access |
Cockroaches
Native cockroaches are decomposers, habitat engineers and, in one of the more surprising relationships in Australian botany, pollinators. Macrozamia cycads, the zamia palms native to eastern and south-eastern Australia, produce cones that heat up and release specific compounds to attract native cockroaches into the male cone, where the insects collect pollen. They then carry that pollen to the female cone. The heat produced by the cone is a genuine metabolic event and it is one of the more extraordinary examples of plant-animal co-evolution.
MargaretRDonald, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Macrozamia cycads produce cones that generate heat and volatile compounds to attract native cockroaches and beetles — one of the most extraordinary pollination mechanisms in the Australian flora.
For the garden, burrawang (Macrozamia communis) and zamia palm (M. riedlei) are the most widely cultivated species. They are slow-growing, long-lived and architecturally distinctive. A mature Macrozamia in cone is a garden event — and one that most visitors will have no idea is being facilitated by native cockroaches working inside it.
The austral ellipsidion (Ellipsidion australe) — a native cockroach documented as a Macrozamia cone visitor; attractively banded in orange-brown, nothing like the pest species most people picture when they hear the word cockroach.
Supporting cockroaches in your garden
| Best plants | Macrozamia cycads (M. communis, M. riedlei) for cockroach and beetle cone pollination |
| Habitat | Leaf litter, bark and decomposing organic matter; shelter under dense ground cover |
| Active season | Year-round in warm climates; reduced in cold winters |
| What to avoid | Cockroach baits and broad-spectrum pesticides applied to garden beds |
What this means for your garden
The practical takeaway is that a garden planted with diversity in flower structure, flower colour, flower height, flowering season and plant type will support the full range of pollinators without any deliberate engineering. A garden that has open-structured flowers alongside tubular ones, white and pale flowers alongside the vivid reds and yellows, ground-level plants alongside canopy trees, leaf litter alongside open soil and dead wood alongside dense living foliage, is one that works for wasps, flies, beetles, moths, possums, gliders, lizards and cockroaches simultaneously.
A diverse native garden supports a functioning insect community that most gardeners never see — the visible pollinators like bees and butterflies are the surface of a much larger ecological network.
The things that most undermine this diversity are the same things that undermine garden ecology generally: excessive tidiness, hard paving, soil disturbance, pesticide use and the removal of mature trees. The most effective action most gardeners can take for the full pollinator community is to leave dead stems, leaf litter and fallen timber.
keep reading
A Guide to Australian Native Gardening
How to plan, plant and care for a thriving native garden, whatever your experience level.
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