By Lonnie Morris
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| Bombus affinis, Caroline Hlohowskyj |
Has your garden gone quiet, the hum and buzz of busy
pollinators a faint whisper? Do you
remember summer nights driving through clouds of insects but now arrive home with
a clean windshield? Do you miss the
enchantment of watching the flash and glimmer of fireflies?
While we’ve been busy doing human stuff, pollinators and
insects have been quietly disappearing. For years the decline went unnoticed. Insects are small, many live outdoors, and often the everyday human-insect
interactions are annoying--ants in the kitchen, mosquitoes in the yard, yellow
jackets threatening a picnic. Hard to
miss something you want to avoid.
Though often overlooked, insects are the keystone of life, a
pivotal connection between plants and animals. Our lives are being diminished by their decline.
A growing number of studies confirm insects are declining in
abundance, with a number of species in danger of extinction. Insects in general are declining, but the
ones commanding the most attention are pollinators, a group that includes bees,
butterflies, moths, beetles, ants, and flies. Pollinators in Peril, a report
prepared by the Center for Biological Diversity in 2017, found that 24% of
native bees are imperiled, and population declines are occurring in 52%
of native bee species. In Illinois, the
Illinois Butterfly Monitoring Network has found a 30% decline in butterfly
abundance since 2000.
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| Bombus griseocollis, Gerald Davidson |
The spotlight has been on honeybees for years. It’s THE bee that comes to mind when
discussing pollinator decline, likely because of their strong connection with
people. Honeybees perform essential pollinator services for several food crops,
they make honey, and their picture had been featured on a popular breakfast
cereal box until it was replaced by a ghost-like silhouette to highlight
honeybee decline.
The honeybee’s celebrity has eclipsed the contributions
native bees make to a healthy eco-system. The honeybee is distinctive in several ways, setting it apart from other
bees. It is social, while most bees are
solitary. It has been managed for so
long, its typical home is a hive box; most native bees build modest nests in
the ground or hollow stems and twigs.
We’re familiar with adult bees, tiny creatures flying from
flower to flower, but the majority of a bee’s life is spent out of sight, in a
nest undergoing the early stages of its life cycle. The bee’s developmental stages are the same
as a butterfly’s: an egg hatching into a larva (grub form), then pupating
before becoming the adult we recognize.
Many pollinators have unique skills equipping them to
perform specialized tasks required for pollinating certain types of plants.
Tomatoes, potatoes, eggplants, blueberries, and cranberries have tightly packed
pollen that isn’t readily accessible and needs to be released with a good
shaking. Bumblebees clasp the flower then engage their flights muscles,
producing a vibration strong enough to unleash the pollen. Honeybees are not capable
of this particular pollinating technique, called buzz pollination.
Some pollinators, like the squash or cucurbit bee,
specialize in the pollen of a particular plant or family of plants. Illinois grows the majority of pumpkins in
the US, a plant that relies heavily on pollinators. Maintaining a supply of Halloween pumpkins
and pumpkin pie depends on a healthy population of squash bees.
All pollinators, all insects are necessary and essential;
they’re the ingredients of the wondrous diversity of life that sustains
us.
Pollinators Need our
Help
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| Bombus vagans, Carl Strang |
Human activity has created the conditions negatively
impacting insects. The causes are known: primarily loss of habitat, widespread
pesticide usage, and changing weather patterns. Each one of us can be part of the solution.
World-renowned biologist Jane Goodall said, “Only if we understand can we care. Only if we care will
we help. Only if we help shall they be saved.”
Helping begins with
understanding. One of the best ways of
understanding the natural world is to spend time in it, looking closely,
listening carefully, being curious, noting changes, asking questions, and
finding answers. Eric Simons, an editor
for Bay Nature, a science magazine based in San Francisco, says,
“You can go for a walk outside and just pay
attention to what’s around you.” It sounds simple, but Simons says that
noticing your surroundings is the first step to noticing changes. “The natural
world needs witnesses, now more than ever.”
Your garden and yard are the closest places for observing
and helping pollinators. Which trees,
shrubs, and flowers are hosting a lively gathering of insects? Are there
different types of visitors, butterflies, and bees, or an assortment of bees?
Gardening practices
make a difference
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| Bombus auricomus, JoAnn Monge |
From plant selection to tidiness, what you do in the garden
can make it more inviting to pollinators.
A tidy garden erases many nesting sites. Skipping much of fall clean-up and delaying
spring clean-up until it’s warm enough for bees to leave the nest are ways a
garden becomes habitat.
Pollinators need nectar and pollen from early spring to late
fall. Plan for a succession of blooming
plants, including the native species many pollinators prefer.
Keep pollinators in mind when replacing or adding trees and
shrubs. Some are more supportive of insects, such as oaks, cherries, and
basswood.
Pesticides don’t just kill pests but beneficial insects as
well. Minimize or eliminate pesticide
applications in the yard and garden.
Support pesticide-free agriculture by buying organic when
possible.
Not a gardener? You can help by educating others,
volunteering your time with local groups, donating to environmental
organizations working on behalf of pollinators, and advocating for legislation
protecting pollinators.
Resources:
Lonnie Morris is
the coordinator for the DuPage Monarch Project, a partnership organization of
the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County, River Prairie Group of the
Sierra Club, The Conservation Foundation, and Wild Ones Greater DuPage
Chapter. More information about DuPage
Monarch Project at dupagemonarchs.com
