Bees and pollinators

Take time to watch honeybees gathering nectar as they move from flower to flower. Whisper a thank you.

Bees and pollinators
When we admire flowers, we usually look at their colors and shapes, but the most interesting parts of a flower are in its center. That’s where all the action is. The center is like a factory where seeds are quietly made. The trick is getting the male part of the flower – the yellow dust called pollen – to the tiny seeds-to-be in the female parts of the flower. Most flowering plants can’t make seeds without outside help. Bees, butterflies, flies, wasps, birds, and bats brush pollen onto the female parts of the flower as they land on the flowers and move around. They act as pollinators.

Bees and pollinators and us
A third of our food supply depends on pollinators. They’re essential to food production. When we lose bees and other pollinators, we lose more than honey. We lose apples and pumpkins and cranberries and strawberries and avocados and more than 140 other fruits and vegetables. In the US, we could lose more than $15 billion a year in agricultural production. Pollinators also support healthy ecosystems that clean the air, stabilize soil, and support other living things, both animals and plants.
 
Bees and pollinators and us and them
Last year we lost 44% of our honeybee colonies. Since 1990, almost 970 million Monarch butterflies have vanished. Diseases, pests, and climate change are contributing to the decline of pollinators, but growing scientific evidence points to pesticides containing chemicals called neonics as the biggest culprit. The largest neonic producers, companies like Bayer and Syngenta, coat seeds and provide pesticides for crops, which result in killing pollinators as well as pests.

Bees and pollinators and us and them and the future
What can we do to help protect pollinators – and apple pie and guacamole?

• Don’t use products in your home or garden that include these neonic ingredients:

          acetamiprid, clothianidin, dinotefuran, imidacloprid, and thiamethoxam. Use eco-friendly pest-               control products.

• Buy flower seeds and vegetable seeds that are not coated with neonicotinoids. Take time to study the ingredients list, because some of the “bee-friendly” plants sold at garden centers have been pre-treated with bee-poisoning neonics.
• Ask Congress to ban these pesticides and to encourage the development of safer alternatives.
• Try to buy organic plants. Try to plant native species to attract the insect pollinators in your area. But the important thing is to plant lots of flowering plants – organic, native, or otherwise. Even some weeds are invaluable. Dandelions are super pollinator attracters. Violets are lovely and make a good ground cover.
• Don’t spray weeds (and pollinators). Let clover and dandelions grow in your lawn, or dig them out.
• Join an environmental organization that is actively working to protect pollinators, such as: 

                    The Sierra Club – “You don’t have to smoke cigarettes to die from nicotine poisoning” 
                    Friends of the Earth – BeeAction.org 
                    The League of Conservation Voters – Stop the Bee-pocalypse!
 
Bees and pollinators and us and them and the future and our new backyards
It’s fun to plant with pollinators in mind. Whether you’re planting a potted plant for a city roof garden or landscaping a backyard, consider pollinators and their favorites.
          Honeybees – anise hyssop, aster, beebalm, black-eyed Susan, catmint, columbine, coneflowers,                       goldenrod, lavender, sage, thyme, yarrow
          Common Eastern bumblebee – clover, rosemary, sunflower, willow
          Hummingbird moth – phlox, bee balm, honeysuckle, verbena
          Native bee – anise hyssop, blazing star, fruit crops
          Pollen wasp – Western wildflowers
          Karner blue butterfly – butterfly weed, leafy spurge, blazing star
          European honeybee – sage – lemon balm
          Monarch butterfly – milkweed
          Hoverfly – yarrow, wild mustard
          Bee fly – Desert and alpine flowers
          Drone fly – alyssum, cosmos, Queen Anne’s lace, lupine
                     From Martha Stewart’s Living magazine