National Pollinator Week is June 22-28, 2009
Did you know that one out of every three bites of food you eat depends on pollinators? Honeybees, bumble bees, and other insects, birds and small mammals pollinate over 90% of the planet's flowering plants and one third of human food crops.
Birds, Bees, Flowers and Trees
About 90% of all flowering plants need the help of animals to move pollen from flower to flower for the production of fruits and seeds. Most pollinators, about 200,000 species, are beneficial Insects such as bees, flies, beetles, wasps, ants, butterflies, and moths. About 1,000 species of pollinators are vertebrates like birds, bats, lizards, and small mammals.
Halloween Without Pumpkins? Thanksgiving Without Cranberries?
Our world would be a lot less colorful and flavorful without pollinators! Of the estimated 1330 crop plants grown worldwide for food, beverages, fibers, condiments, spices, and medicines approximately 75% are pollinated by animals. In the U.S, honey bee and native bee pollination accounts for approximately $19 billion worth of crop production. Native bees also help maintain plant communities that provide food and shelter for other animals. About 25% of birds and many mammals from grizzly bears to squirrels feed on fruits and seeds that depend upon pollinators to produce.
The Buzz About Bees
There are more species of bees in the world than all mammal and bird species combined. In North America there are around 4,000 species of bees. In Missouri there are over 400 species of bees, including 10 species of bumblebees. Honey bees are an exotic species first introduced into the New World in 1622.
Pollinators are often keystone species, meaning that they are critical to an ecosystem. As landscapes are converted from wild to managed lands, many pollinators' habitats may be destroyed or fragmented.
Saint Louis Zoo is Helping Pollinators
Bees in the Park
Armed with digital cameras, guidebooks and field journals, Zoo researchers are conducting a scientific survey of bee and other pollinator populations in Forest Park's restored prairies during summer 2009 as part of the Zoo's WildCare Institute Center for Conservation in Forest Park, in cooperation with Forest Park Forever and St. Louis Parks Department. Information gathered about the diversity and abundance of pollinators in the Park will help improve and modify habitat, and provide valuable data about invertebrate populations and colonization.
Gardening in the Name of Science
At the Zoo's Orthwein Animal Nutrition Center, researchers have planted two identical gardens during the summer of 2009: one garden is netted to keep out pollinators and the other has been left open. Nutrition staff will compare the size, shape, color and nutrient content of the fruits and vegetables from each garden to evaluate the effect of pollinators.
Honeybees at the Insectarium
The Monsanto Insectarium at the Saint Louis Zoo is home to a working Honeybee hive. The bees can be seen hard at work inside the Insectarium.
What you can do to help
Be a Spotter!
St. Louisans can now participate in the University of Illinois' "Bee Spotter" program to help collect data in our region. Through the Bee Spotter Web site, you can send photos you have taken of bees in the St. Louis Metropolitan area. The information will be added to a database to establish a baseline for monitoring population decline.
Plant a Garden
You can help native pollinators, especially bees, by planting a pollinator-friendly garden.
• Maximize flower space and plant species diversity.
• Provide a succession of blooming plants throughout the growing season, spring through fall.
• Provide a mix of flower shapes to accommodate different species.
• Emphasize native perennial plants.
• Plant host plants to feed caterpillars as well as nectar plants for adult butterflies.
• Avoid horticultural plants, such as marigolds and roses, bred as "doubles" that provide little or no pollen and nectar.
• Choose non-chemical solutions to insect problems.
• Avoid using herbicides.
• Provide nesting habitat for bees, such as bare ground for digger and sweat bees and wood and dried plant stems for leaf cutter and carpenter bees.
• Practice peaceful coexistence. Bees sometimes choose to nest in inconvenient places. Rather than exterminating them, think of it as an opportunity to see and learn about them up close.
Visit the Pollinator Partnership Web site for more information.
Print out this useful native pollinator guide.
Missouri Pollinator Week
Read the 2009 proclamation from Missouri Governor Jay Nixon.
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