Pollinators

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We depend on pollinators to help us grow over 100 crop species that provide 90 percent of the world’s food.  Over 70 of these crops are pollinated by bees. Pollinators are responsible for about one of every three bites of food that we eat.

Most of us think only of bees as pollinators, but they are not the only pollinators.  Pollinators include birds, bees, butterflies, moths, flies, beetles, bats, and some other mammals.

In the United States, the majority of the pollination services are performed by bees, including the non-native European honeybee and over 4,000 species of native bees.

With the decline of both the European honeybee and other pollinators, Master Gardeners are interested in the development of new habitat and improving existing environs to support the pollinators in our area.

Here are some articles on pollinators that we have gathered from around the web that you will find useful:

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• Attracting Pollinators to Your Garden Using Native Plants

• Pollinator Plants for the Great Lakes Region

• Identifying Native Bees

• Protecting Monarchs: What You Can Do to Support Monarch Butterflies

 

Here are some links that you might find useful:

• Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation

• Pollinator Partnership

• The Buzz with Bees: Native and Managed Pollinators