We attended a class on pollinators this week put on by Matthew Shepherd of the Xerces Society. The class was a fascinating look at what pollinators are, what purpose they serve and what we can do to increase the number of pollinators. I've read over the last couple of years about the challenges with the lack of honey bees and the serious impact this could have on our food supply and was glad to find there was something I could do to help.

What are pollinators?

Pollinators are bees and wasps, butterflies and moths, flies and beetles. In certain parts of the US, pollinators include white-winged doves, bats and hummingbirds. And, the most important are the bees. I believe Matthew said something about bees handling around 70% of pollination.

What is their purpose?

Pollinators fly from flower to flower, moving pollen to help fertilize the plant. Without them, we wouldn't have most of the wonderful produce in our gardens, nor would we have seeds to plant to grow our gardens. Our food supply would dwindle and our beautiful landscapes would slowly cease to exist. That's a grim view of what would happen without them but assuring their continuance is really fairly easy.

What do they need?

Bees and butterflies need food to eat and a place to lay their eggs. Their food is some form of nectar and/or pollen. Butterflies lay their eggs on various plants where the eggs hatch into larva and use the plant to sustain them until they pupate and then finally turn into an adult butterfly. Bees lay their eggs in nests either in wood or in the ground. You can download a number of Fact Sheets from the Xerces Society that cover building bee boxes and plants to grow for both bees and butterflies. There are also a number of other resources about pollinators at the same location.