Beetle pollination
Beetles had already learnt to feed on the pollen of cycads, and were one of the first to transfer their attentions to the early flowers like those of the magnolias and waterlilies. As they moved from one to another flower, beetles collected meals of pollen and paid for them by becoming covered in excess pollen which they involuntarily delivered to the next flower they visited. One danger of having both eggs and pollen in the same structure is that the plant may pollinate itself, however, this is overcome by egg and pollen cells being mature at different times.
Nymphaea alba
