Abstract: Moths are important pollinators of a diverse range of plant species in ecosystems. They, as a key composition in global diversity, have considerable impacts on ecoenvironment. The majority of them are nocturnal insects. However, studies on nocturnal pollination biology to date have largely been ignored. Their contribution to the provision of pollination ecosystem services may have been underappreciated. In this article, we made a systematic review of the studies of nocturnal pollinating moths across the world, mainly including the diversification, distinction between nocturnal and diurnal pollination, research methods, and pollination biology and ecology. The results showed that, up to June 2018, there were 596 species of moths, involving 29 families of 15 superfamilies of Lepidoptera, which have been recorded for flower visit or pollination. Both nocturnal and diurnal pollinators and pollinated plants have obvious adaptive characteristics in morphology. The research methods of nocturnal moths include the light trap, sample section counting, observation and some technical methods derived therefrom. It is hoped that this review will provide a useful reference for the study of the interaction between pollinators and entomophilous plants in China.

Key words:  Moths, pollination, nocturnal habit, diversity, biology