 The flowers are fed at by a range of nectarivorous birds : mainly honeyeaters , including the New Holland honeyeater ( Phylidonyris novaehollandiae ) , white @-@ cheeked honeyeater ( P. nigra ) , brown honeyeater ( Lichmera indistincta ) , singing honeyeater ( Lichenostomus virescens ) , tawny @-@ crowned honeyeater ( Gliciphila melanops ) and red wattlebird ( Anthochaera carunculata ) . Lorikeets have also been observed feeding at the flowers , as have insects , including ants , bees , and aphids . Of these , evidence suggests that only birds are effective pollinators . Insects apparently play no role in pollination , since inflorescences do not form follicles when birds are excluded in pollinator exclusion experiments ; and pollination by mammals has never been recorded in this species . 
