Possible long-proboscid insect pollinators from the Early Permian of Russia.

Insect pollination is one of the hallmarks of flowering plants. Bees, moths, flies, and some other pollinators evolved elongate siphonate mouthparts for sucking concealed nectar and occasionally other liquids. However, it is clear from the fossil record that insects with similar adaptations appeared long before the mid-Cretaceous radiation of angiosperms.