Can you imagine Halloween without pumpkins, Thanksgiving without cranberries, or life without chocolate? Did you know that one out of every three bites of food that you eat needs the help of insect pollinators?
Some of the important crops that require insect pollination include almonds, apples, alfalfa, blackberries, blueberries, cherries, cranberries, pears, plums, squash, sunflowers, tomatoes and watermelons! Even birds and mammals, from grizzly bears to squirrels, feed on fruits and seeds that depend upon pollinators to produce.
Is the honey bee the only pollinator? Definitely not!
We can thank the bumblebee for pollinating all of our potatoes and tomatoes. The tiny midge fly pollinates the intricate cacao flower. Capers are pollinated by the sphinx moth and squash bees. And with the help of bumblebees, solitary bees and honey bees pollinate cantaloupe, honeydew and cucumbers. Native bees are probably the most important group of pollinators and surprisingly, there are more species of bees in the world than all mammal and bird species combined.
Scientists tell us that there are over 20,000 species with at least 425 speciesin Missouri alone! Unlike social honey bees, the majority of native bees are solitary, nesting in burrows on the ground or small holes in wood rather than building hives. The unsung heroes among the pollinators include a diversity of creatures, from birds and bats, hummingbirds and butterflies, to moths, beetles and flies.
Because of the declining numbers and the importance of native bees and other pollinators, the St. Louis Zoo has started the Native Pollinator Conservation Initiative. This Initiative will help develop a collaborative network of zoos, botanical gardens, universities and other organizations interested in helping. There is certainly an opportunity for garden club participation and you can start by planting the native plants that pollinators love and plants that provide a lot of nectar and pollen.
This autumn I hope you will take a good look at your harvest table laden with vegetables and fruits with a new appreciation for the many little pollinators that helped bring them to you.
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