Pollinators Are the Bees Knees

Don’t swat at that bee or moth flying around you – it’s likely providing significant benefit to your life! Thanks to insects that transfer pollen between plants, i.e., pollinators, we have fresh fruit, vegetables, and tree nuts in our grocery stores and farmers markets. In fact, one-in-three forkfuls of our food depends on insects for pollination. All flowering plants depend on insects such as honeybees, butterflies, moths, bats, and birds (e.g., hummingbirds) for pollination. These plants in turn provide sustenance for many animals. Over 40 percent of insect species are threatened with extinction. Our well-being as humans and that of wildlife and livestock depend on the well-being of pollinators. Yet, pollinators are increasingly endangered by loss of habitat, monocropping, pesticides, and other factors.

So essential are honeybees, native bees, butterflies, moths, bats, and birds to the pollination of non-grain edible plant life that according to Maurice Maeterlinck, author of The Life of the Bee, if bees were to die out, humans would only have four years to live. Whether that timeline is realistic may be a point of debate. Bees are crucial to the health of our food supply. Over 100 different crops depend on honeybees, native bees, and other pollinators (including bats). While native bees are responsible for pollinating some of those crops, honeybees do the bulk of the pollinating. Both native and honeybees are imperiled. Almonds, apples, cherries, peaches, and dozens of other fruits and vegetables that we take for granted will not be available in our grocery stores to serve at our tables should honeybees cease to exist.

Yet the question remains: How can we “do good” by the bees, butterflies, bats, and other insects?

The answers are multiple. Everyone can do something. First off, we can make ‘protect the pollinators’ our mantra. Imagine the difference we could make if we all worked together, much like a colony of bees, a super organism, to all do our part to save the bees. It’s possible that together we could begin to turn back the rising tide of large annual losses of honeybees. Imagine the help we could offer to native bees, monarch butterflies, bats, moths, birds, or other pollinators. We can each consider responding to this call to action with a means of supporting pollinators that fits our lives today. Here are some suggestions:

Become a pollinator protector

Everyone can sign up for information about getting involved in pollinator conservation. A good place to start is the Xerces Society, an organization that advocates for the protection of invertebrates. The site offers educational materials about different types of pollinators. While there, you can sign the pollinator protection pledge committing to growing pollinator-friendly flowers, providing nest sites, avoiding pesticides, and spreading the word.

Education

Whether honeybees or native bees, butterfly, or bat, pick a type of pollinator and learn everything you can about it. Research information about its preferred habitat. Figure out a way to create such a habitat and make it a point to find ways to care for your chosen type of pollinator. Apply what you learn from going deep about one type of pollinator and teach it to others. Invite someone else from a different household to learn in-depth about a particular pollinator.

Read as much as you can about your pollinator of choice. For the younger set, several adorable, but substantive books exist to appeal to different ages. For the preschool set, The Bee Book by Charlotte Milner offers a good introduction for children and parents alike. For slightly older children, you might consider Hilary Kearney’s two gems: The Little Book of Bees and QueenSpotting. Dr. Thomas Dyer Seeley, professor emeritus at Cornell University, has written a handful of books on honeybee behavior that would appeal to young adults and older adults including Honeybee Democracy, Honeybee Ecology, The Lives of Bees, The Wisdom of the Hive, and Following the Wild Bees.

Build, create, protect pollinator habitat

Many native bee species build their nests in abandoned rodent burrows or under tussocks of grass. Consider creating a conservation pocket on your property of un-mowed and brushy areas for overwintering habitat for bees.

People of all ages and stages can research and build native habitats that are well-suited to various types of pollinators. Resources about insect nesting are available online. In Nashville, you can search for information about upcoming programs at Warner Parks Nature Center and Shelby Bottoms Nature Center, among others.

Plant for pollinators

Learning which plants are native to your area can be an eye-opening experience. Planting native plants – as opposed to exotic ones – for honeybees and all types of native pollinators (butterflies, moths, birds, and bats) will support our insect friends. Many locally owned gardening centers keep in inventory of native plants that are ideally suited to local pollinators. By choosing to patronize such establishments you are not only getting high quality stock, but you are likely also avoiding plants that have been treated with neonicotinoids which may poison your pollinators when you transplant them into your garden. By planting native plants, you will be choosing plants that have evolved or co-adapted to native pollinators, a win-win for ecologically sound efforts to do well by our bugs.
One way in which you might specialize is to research a species of pollinator such as monarch butterflies to learn about their preferred habitat and sources of pollen and nectar. You will invariably learn that monarch butterflies are present in North America during the warmer months when they migrate thousands of miles from Mexico. They prefer nectar-rich flowers and require milkweed host plants. Learn more about Monarch Nectar Plants in the Southeast.

While honeybees, native bees, butterflies, and moths thrive mostly on nectar, caterpillars are entirely different as they require host plants such as fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) and dill (Anethum graveolens) to survive. Such host plants provide safe places for female butterflies to lay their eggs and provide essential nutrition for growing caterpillars.

As you plant your garden, consider providing a diversity of native plants, picking ones that flower at different times to promote access to pollen and nectar for a wide range of months. Plant flowers with an array of shapes and colors to support a wide variety of pollinators.

Find alternatives to pesticides

Many people think that using pesticides is just part of good yard maintenance the same way that mowing weekly and fertilizing regularly are widely considered good maintenance. Unfortunately, a yard without bugs is a yard without flowering plants, and potentially a garden that doesn’t bear fruit. Most insects are essential to a healthy ecosystem, including controlling pests, pollinating flowering plants, and providing food for other wildlife. Pesticides designed to control pests cannot distinguish between beneficial and harmful invertebrates.

For the bees’, butterflies’, bats’ sake, don’t use pesticides. Discourage their systemic use by your state highway patrol, local parks and recreation office, and private companies. Instead, support the diverse systems that reduce pest problems, including ecological pest management.

Support others who are working to protect pollinators

Supporting beekeeping through a hive sponsorship offers an in-depth opportunity to learn about this intellectually satisfying species, without the cash outlay for equipment, gear, and bees. Together with a knowledgeable beekeeper who understands the importance of education in addressing the plight of pollinators, it is possible to play a supporting role without taking on the full, often time-consuming work of tending the bees.

Shape the conversation about public lands and public policy

A final way to support pollinators is to get involved in local efforts to improve the management of our public lands and policies. This includes shaping the conversation about the use of integrated pest management tools, which is broad-based, multifaceted approach to the control of pests. The Bee City USA program leads volunteers to collaborate with their city leadership to pass legislation that protects pollinators and works to educate the public about the importance of pollinators. In fact, thanks to several local movers and shakers, efforts are underway to make Nashville an affiliate of Bee City USA.

As this beekeeper can attest, the life of a bee is one of dedication to the common good. Dedication to the common good is also what drives beekeepers and pollinator protectors. Let me assert that doing good by the pollinators is not only good, but essential for our well-being and theirs. This is the season. Let us each seek vehicles to protect the pollinators on which our own sustenance depends.

Blog Author

This blog was authored by Katherine Haynes, who finds purpose and passion as a hobbyist beekeeper, a beehive product entrepreneur, and pollinator advocate in Tennessee.