Mention pollen and you may think allergies, but did you know that our survival actually depends on the stuff. 80% of the world’s crop plants depend on pollination. Pollinators are responsible for an estimated 1 out of every 3 mouthfuls of our food. They are essential to the fibers we use, the medicines that keep us healthy, and more than half of the world’s diet of fats and oils. Insect pollinators, including honey bees, pollinate products amounting to $20 billion annually in the U.S. alone.
Pollination occurs when pollen is moved within flowers or carried from one flower to another by birds, bees, bats, butterflies, moths, beetles or other animals, or by the wind. This transfer leads to fertilization and successful seed and fruit production.
Unfortunately, the numbers of both native pollinators and domesticated bee populations are declining. They are threatened by habitat loss, disease, and the excessive and inappropriate use of pesticides.
How can you promote pollinators?
The Pollinator Partnership, a non-profit organization working to protect the health of managed and native North American pollinating animals has created regional planting guides to provide individuals with plant selection tools for encouraging pollinators in their neighborhoods. You can download a pdf of these pollinator friendly regional planting guides here, and entering your zip code.
By adding plants to your landscape that provide food and shelter for pollinators throughout their active seasons and by adopting pollinator friendly landscape practices, you can make a difference to both the pollinators and the people that rely on them.
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