When you think of pollinators, do round, furry bumblebees come to mind? Bees are designed to pollinate! A bee’s buzz is a middle C tone the vibration of which helps to release thousands of pollen grains as it flies in and out of flowers. Any pollen that doesn’t get stuck to the bee can be carried by the wind to neighboring plants. Bees help pollinate plants they don’t even visit.
Pollinators can also be a wide range of insects and even mammals. On top of bumblebees, other common pollinators include honey bees, butterflies, beetles, moths, wasps, and flies. According to the Natural Resources Conservation Service, “Three-fourths of the world’s flowering plants and about 35 percent of the world’s food crops depend on animal pollinators to reproduce.” Pollinators aren’t aware that they are helping to grow new plants when they go looking for energy-rich nectar or protein-packed pollen.
Bees, and other pollinators, will fly into flowering plants looking for food and rub up against the anther of one flower, then fly to the next flower and some of the pollen that rubbed off the first flower will get deposited on the stigma of the second flower; the plant is then able to create fruits or seeds. This is called cross-pollination because it involves mixing the pollen of one flower with another of the same species.
What can you do to help pollinators stay happy and healthy?
- A biologically diverse yard with lots of different kinds of plants will attract many types of pollinators.
- Choose varieties of plants that flower during different seasons to give pollinators a year-round food source.
- Grow flower species that bloom at night. Moths and bats are nocturnal pollinators.
- Reach out to your local university agricultural college extension office to research the best plants in your region to attract pollinators
- Choose varieties of plants that flower during different seasons to give pollinators a year-round food source.
- Skip pesticides! Pesticides are generalist toxins that and likely harm the pollinators you are trying to attract.
- While aphids and other garden pests are unpleasant, the best thing for pollinators is to skip the chemicals and try out other methods for getting rid of unwanted guests in your garden such as attracting beneficial insects that feed on pests.
- Give your pollinators a source of water.
- Use a dripping hose, or drip irrigation line, or place your bird bath on bare soil to create a damp area.
- Choose varieties of plants that flower during different seasons to give pollinators a year-round food source.
