Post by URBAN FARMING on Apr 22, 2018 18:21:48 GMT -6
Pollinators: Who Are They? What Do They Do? How Can We Help Them?
By Cherry Flowers, Ramsey County Master Gardener, Independent Organic Certification Farm Inspector
Take a look into your refrigerator. How much of the food you eat every day is brought to you by pollinators? A surprising amount! Many of the plant-based foods are pollinator dependent, plus many animals eat plants, so even meat can be pollinator dependent. Currently pollinators are struggling. Their habitat is threatened and they are not getting enough food to stay healthy and provide the pollinator services needed to continue to support production of our food supply. This is a perfect example of a mutually beneficial relationship. We help the pollinators by providing the plants that offer the pollen they need to be healthy, and they pollinate the food plants we need to survive.
Who are the pollinators? The first pollinator that comes to mind is probably the bumble bee or the Monarch butterfly, but there are many others. There are over 3600 known species of bees and only 49 of these are bumble bees! There are also other insects like beetles, wasps, moths and butterflies helping to pollinate our fruits and vegetables. Some insects visit flowers to gather pollen, while others consume nectar and pollen becomes attached to them and is transferred from flower to flower which is what triggers fruit and vegetable development. There are a number of bee species that are now in decline, and recently, the rusty patch bee was added to the endangered species list. It’s clear that providing pollinator habitat has never been more important.
What can we do to help pollinators? Pollinators need an abundant and consistent supply of pollen or nectar for food. One of the best things we can do for pollinators is to provide a habitat abundant with diverse species of native plants and wildflowers. Remember to include flowering fruits and vegetables that blossom at different times of the year. Flowers that have an open form make it easiest for pollinators to access pollen. One part of the landscape we may forget to consider is the huge expanses of lawn made up of grasses that provide no food source for pollinators. Many people are now transitioning grass lawns to pollinator friendly red clover or another ground cover that flowers and provides pollinators with a food source. A pollinator friendly environment provides a safe and healthy habitat which includes food sources, housing, and toxin-free environments. For example, leaving flower stems standing after the flowers are spent provides hollow stem housing for some pollinators, and a small pile of rocks may become a pollinator home, as well. Leaving small areas of bare ground may attract ground dwelling bees to set up housekeeping near your garden. To ensure pollinator health, we can also eliminate or reduce the use of chemical pesticides, herbicides, and insecticides which can be detrimental to pollinators. If use of a chemical is essential, avoid spraying on a windy day and when flowers are in bloom and spray in the evening when pollinator activity is minimal.
Providing pollinator friendly environments is beneficial to pollinators and we get to enjoy the beauty of a continuously blooming landscape! One example of a group of plants that would be provide continuous bloom in the Great Lake Region of the US includes: Spring bloom – Purple Prairie Clover and Wild Bergamot; Summer bloom – Culvers Root, Swamp Milkweed and Lead Plant; Fall bloom – Common Boneset and Showy Goldenrod.
For more information about native plants and wildflowers you can plant to support pollinators, contact a Master Gardener program in your area. articles.extension.org/pages/9925/state-and-provincial-master-gardener-programs:-extension-and-affiliated-program-listings or the Xerxes Society xerces.org/pollinator-conservation/plant-lists/.
For more information about pollinators www.beelab.umn.edu/sites/beelab.umn.edu/files/cfans_asset_488210.pdf
Flowers for Pollinators, University of MN www.extension.umn.edu/garden/yard-garden/flowers-for-pollinators/index.html
Bee lawns www.beelab.umn.edu/bees/beelawn
By Cherry Flowers, Ramsey County Master Gardener, Independent Organic Certification Farm Inspector
Take a look into your refrigerator. How much of the food you eat every day is brought to you by pollinators? A surprising amount! Many of the plant-based foods are pollinator dependent, plus many animals eat plants, so even meat can be pollinator dependent. Currently pollinators are struggling. Their habitat is threatened and they are not getting enough food to stay healthy and provide the pollinator services needed to continue to support production of our food supply. This is a perfect example of a mutually beneficial relationship. We help the pollinators by providing the plants that offer the pollen they need to be healthy, and they pollinate the food plants we need to survive.
Who are the pollinators? The first pollinator that comes to mind is probably the bumble bee or the Monarch butterfly, but there are many others. There are over 3600 known species of bees and only 49 of these are bumble bees! There are also other insects like beetles, wasps, moths and butterflies helping to pollinate our fruits and vegetables. Some insects visit flowers to gather pollen, while others consume nectar and pollen becomes attached to them and is transferred from flower to flower which is what triggers fruit and vegetable development. There are a number of bee species that are now in decline, and recently, the rusty patch bee was added to the endangered species list. It’s clear that providing pollinator habitat has never been more important.
What can we do to help pollinators? Pollinators need an abundant and consistent supply of pollen or nectar for food. One of the best things we can do for pollinators is to provide a habitat abundant with diverse species of native plants and wildflowers. Remember to include flowering fruits and vegetables that blossom at different times of the year. Flowers that have an open form make it easiest for pollinators to access pollen. One part of the landscape we may forget to consider is the huge expanses of lawn made up of grasses that provide no food source for pollinators. Many people are now transitioning grass lawns to pollinator friendly red clover or another ground cover that flowers and provides pollinators with a food source. A pollinator friendly environment provides a safe and healthy habitat which includes food sources, housing, and toxin-free environments. For example, leaving flower stems standing after the flowers are spent provides hollow stem housing for some pollinators, and a small pile of rocks may become a pollinator home, as well. Leaving small areas of bare ground may attract ground dwelling bees to set up housekeeping near your garden. To ensure pollinator health, we can also eliminate or reduce the use of chemical pesticides, herbicides, and insecticides which can be detrimental to pollinators. If use of a chemical is essential, avoid spraying on a windy day and when flowers are in bloom and spray in the evening when pollinator activity is minimal.
Providing pollinator friendly environments is beneficial to pollinators and we get to enjoy the beauty of a continuously blooming landscape! One example of a group of plants that would be provide continuous bloom in the Great Lake Region of the US includes: Spring bloom – Purple Prairie Clover and Wild Bergamot; Summer bloom – Culvers Root, Swamp Milkweed and Lead Plant; Fall bloom – Common Boneset and Showy Goldenrod.
For more information about native plants and wildflowers you can plant to support pollinators, contact a Master Gardener program in your area. articles.extension.org/pages/9925/state-and-provincial-master-gardener-programs:-extension-and-affiliated-program-listings or the Xerxes Society xerces.org/pollinator-conservation/plant-lists/.
For more information about pollinators www.beelab.umn.edu/sites/beelab.umn.edu/files/cfans_asset_488210.pdf
Flowers for Pollinators, University of MN www.extension.umn.edu/garden/yard-garden/flowers-for-pollinators/index.html
Bee lawns www.beelab.umn.edu/bees/beelawn