The pollination crew

We need pollinators to survive as a human species. These insects and other organisms are crucial for food production and are currently in high demand. Pollinating insects save us at least $195 billion to $577 billion annually, which is the cost of pollinating our food crops by hand. Bees, wasps, flies, bumblebees, ants, butterflies and moths all pollinate our food for free, a vital service.

Farmers intentionally add beehives to their orchards and fields to make sure food is produced. Pollinators fertilize flowers, and fertilized flowers produce food. Insects are efficient and successful pollinators, a service we would struggle to replicate.

This symbiotic relationship not only helps flowering plants and pollinators through their lifecycles but also produces a tremendous amount of food for animals worldwide, including humans. The U.S. Natural Resources Conservation Service reports that 75% of the world’s flowering plants and 35% of food crops by volume depend on animals for pollination. Other crops like wheat, rice and corn are pollinated by the wind.

Our food supply depends largely on pollinating insects. Unfortunately, our modern food-producing system is anti-insect and pro-insecticide. We may want to rethink this; we are killing the insects that we need to sustainably produce food crops, jeopardizing our own survival.

I love seeing a native patch of flowers on the ground, a group of flowering bushes or a tree in bloom, and a pollination crew in action. An awe-inspiring scene of pollinators so busy and so engaged. What a beautiful relationship they have with the plant. The plant gets tickled everywhere there are flowers as pollinators aggressively gorge on its nectar.

On Amelia Island, one of my favorite pastimes is finding and observing pollinators. Swarms of insects are attracted to the native pollination garden at Egans Creek Park, the Spanish needle bushes on the Amelia River at Fernandina Historic State Park in Old Town, the Jasmine Street entrance of the south greenway, or a sabal palm at the Ritz-Carlton. Residents have pollination gardens in their yards full of spotted bee balm, goldenrod, salvia, American beautyberry and, in turn, lots of visiting pollinators.

In the Chassahowitzka Wildlife Management Area near Spring Hill, Florida, I found a stand of lavender thistle swarming with bumblebees and swallowtail butterflies. This was wonderful to see.

According to Jaret Daniels, a curator at the Florida Museum of Natural History in Gainesville, Florida, even small actions from Florida residents can help pollinators recover. He suggests reducing turf grass on your property and replacing it with native, pollinator-attracting plants. These plants tend to be drought-resistant, reducing water use and providing food for insects, the pollination crew.

Bees are a group of insects that are most known for being pollinators, especially the European honeybee, which is non-native to North America. It is amazing to watch the diversity of native bees that show up when native flowers are available. More than 300 native bee species exist in Florida, including the leaf-cutting bee, which cuts pieces of leaf to line its nests in wood cavities or plant stems, and the southern blueberry bee, which helps pollinate blueberry crops.

Florida has about 200 butterfly species. The most common are swallowtails, fritillaries, zebra longwings, sulfurs, and monarchs. Florida has the highest butterfly diversity east of the Mississippi River.

Flies can be efficient pollinators as well, visiting trees, native wildflowers and garden plants. They mimic bee and wasp behavior when visiting flowers for nectar. These flies include hoverflies, bee flies, tachinid flies and Diptera species that pollinate crops. Wasps are not as efficient pollinators as flies or bees, but they get the job done. Pollinator wasps include the great golden digger wasp, paper wasps, the great black wasp and black and yellow mud daubers. Florida also has five species of pollinating bumblebees.

Our local pollinators and honeybees are not interested in non-native flowers bought from the nursery for landscaping. I have noticed this through observation, and evolutionary biology backs it up. It makes sense that native insects and other pollinators would prefer nectar from native plants since they have co-evolved for millions of years, adapting compatible anatomical structures, chemical signals and matching nutritional profiles. When I am at the local nursery, I choose the flowering plants surrounded by pollinators on the lot, preferably natives.

To protect and feed our local pollinators, residents can reduce turf-grass, plant native varieties, let some flowering weeds grow, provide nesting sites for bees like wood piles, and avoid using harmful pesticides on their property. It is nice to participate in and cooperate with such a grand system. You and your yard can be part of nature’s grand design.

naturesreflectionfo@gmail.com