Here’s how you can help save bees and other pollinators – Everett Post

BY: PHAEDRA SINGELIS, ABC NEWS

(NEW YORK) – Bumblebees are some of our most effective pollinators, but more than a quarter of the species are critically endangered.

Bees, butterflies and other pollinators are threatened by habitat loss, pesticides, disease and climate change.

Bees sustain our lives in ways that we sometimes don’t realize. They are an integral part of our food web – from blueberries to pumpkins – and even play a role in growing the cotton that is used in much of our clothing.

European honeybees brought in by farmers to pollinate crops suffer from colony collapse disorders and parasites. While 15% of the world’s food is pollinated by them, nearly 80% is pollinated by native bees and other wildlife, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Honey beekeepers can rebuild their colonies, but bumblebees and other native species need our help.

As our main pollinators, bees efficiently collect and transport pollen from plant to plant. Butterflies, moths, beetle ants, and some birds and bats also help move pollen inadvertently, but are not up to the efficiency of bees. There are 3,600 native species of bees in the United States and an estimated 20,000 species worldwide, according to the Xerces Society. Currently only the Rusty Patched Bumblebee is classified as endangered. There are just too many other ways to protect them in this way.

Here’s how you can help:

Avoid pesticides

Neonicotinoids and other systemic pesticides are devastating to bees and butterflies. In Oregon, more than 50,000 bumblebees died after spraying the pesticide on a group of trees.

These types of systemic chemicals can poison wildlife for years after they are used. Avoid using weed killers and other insecticides on your lawn or in your yard. Ask your local kindergarten if they use neonicotinoids and shop from those who practice organic or integrated pest management. Share plants with like-minded neighbors or grow plants from untreated seeds. Nature centers, local native plant sales, and native nurseries are also good sources of pesticide-free plants.

Plant native plants

Like monarchs who only feed milkweed and lay eggs, many bees feed on specific plants to which they have adapted over millions of years.

Provision of food through nectar- and pollen-producing plants with regionally specific species. The goal is to have three different plants bloom from early spring to late autumn. Different species of bees feed at different times, and many can only get the nectar and pollen from certain types of flowers.

Plant diversity supports the diversity of bees. Many crops are sterile and do not produce pollen or nectar for bees. Like the monarch, many species of butterflies and moths lay eggs on specific plants, so include hosts for species native to your area. Even a balcony or small patio with pots of flowering natives will help.

For information about native plants in your area, contact your native plant community or search for your zip code in the National Wildlife Foundation’s Native Plant Finder or the Audobon Society.

Provide nesting sites

Don’t be too neat and tidy. Most native bees are loners – they don’t make hives and rarely sting, so you don’t have to worry about inviting them into your yard. About 70% nest on the ground, so leave some areas of bare ground, especially if you see them coming out of small holes in the ground. Lawn, mulch and pavement reduce the number of available nesting sites.

Cavity nests make up the other 30% and use hollow trunk plants and other woody plants to hibernate and lay eggs. Help them by adding stacks of brushes when you have a discreet spot and don’t clean up your dead perennials and other woody plants until late spring. Insect hotels, which have become popular recently, need careful maintenance to prevent the spread of pathogens. Dead plant trunks and other naturally occurring wood material are safer alternatives. Beetles and other insects hide under leaves. “Leaving the leaves” in the fall is another way to help insects survive the winter.

Remove invasive

Non-native plants can become invasive and take over habitats that aid pollinators. Invasive trees can kill trees and move to forested land, where they outperform native species. Non-native plants support very few insects and create food deserts for insects, birds, and wildlife. For lists of invasive species, see the U.S. Invasive Plant Atlas

Reduce your lawn

Turfgrass is not indigenous, does little to support insects or other wildlife – and is often the target of harmful chemicals. Gardens with trees, shrubs, native grasses, and perennials are much better for bees and the environment. Try not to mow early in spring when the seasons change. A recent study in Appleton, Wisconsin, dubbed “No Mow May” found that lawns that were not mowed that month had five times the frequency of bees and three times the number of species of bees than regularly mowed areas.

Spread the word

Put up a sign indicating your pollinator habitat. Let your neighbors know and / or ask your homeowners association to participate. Ask your local kindergarten to store pesticide-free native plants for pollinators. Stay informed and support local, state, and national efforts. Have your city or campus join Bee City USA, or accept the Pollinator Protection Pledge with the Xerces Society.

“Every little bit helps,” said the renowned entomologist Doug Tallamy, who has studied the relationships between plants and insects in depth.

“Our nature reserves and national parks are not enough to prevent the predicted loss of species, and we no longer have enough space to make them big enough,” he wrote in his new book, Nature’s Best Hope. “If Americans replanted half of their lawn with native plants, shrubs and trees, we would have more wildlife habitat than all national parks combined.”

Plant a square meter of native plants or fill a few pots on your balcony or bend over and you’ll be amazed who shows up.

For more information: Xerces Society