Pretty Important Pollinators

Native bee genus Melissodes

Pollinators are a hot topic on many people’s minds.

 

The act of pollination can be achieved by wind, water, and animals. Animal pollinators are birds, butterflies, bats and insects; specifically bees! Bees (and other highly-visible insects like Monarch butterflies) are taking a hit due to habitat loss and increasing use of chemicals that are integrated into plants. I will briefly outline similarities and differences between bees and changes you can implement to improve habitat for these important invertebrates.

In much of the US we rely heavily on the European honeybee for large-scale pollination. However, there are roughly 400 species of native bees that are of great importance in Minnesota.

          The main difference between European honeybees and native bees is the scale of the colony and how social they are and the conditions they are able to forage in. Honeybees work on a huge scale, with one colony containing up to 60,000 or more individual bees and able to cover up to 2 square miles of territory on their search for resources. Because of this large colony, they are excellent for commercial/large scale crop pollination. Large colonies need large stores of honey to survive winter. But honeybees don’t forage in cold conditions, and struggle with cold Minnesota winters.

          Native bees are more solitary. The Bumblebees are the most social; sharing a hive entrance and nesting area, and each female tending her own larvae. Most native bees work on an individual scale to mate, build a home, and provide resources for the next generation. They are able to forage in temps just barely above freezing. Many are even stingless.

          With this large to-do list, native bees tend to occupy much smaller territories. Many of these native bees only fly 300ft to find all their habitat needs. Meaning if your yard contains all the nectar, pollen, and nesting materials needed, you could be an important home for generations of these insects! As they say in real estate: location, location, location!

          Some simple gardening tips can be a great aid to all our pollinators! Use native species that have a variety of bloom times, trees and shrubs too. Stop using insecticides; particularly neonicotinoid class chemicals. You have to be extra careful when purchasing plants to ensure they are not grown with “neonics”. If they are steer clear: they will be deadly to all insects including pollinators. Provide a little patch of mud and sand for ground nesting natives like Mason and Bumblebees. With these simple changes you can sit back and enjoy a huge variety of pollinating visitors.  Check out www.hummingforbees.com for great local pollinator info, and www.xerces.org for nationwide pollinator info.

 

Laurel Sundberg