Thinking Sustainably: Bringing In Pollinators In Cromaine District Library

Press release from the Cromaine District Library:

June 6, 2021

June 21-27 is pollinator week! Make time to get out and enjoy exploring your yard, garden, or local park for pollinators. From bumblebees to birds to bats, pollinators come in many forms and play a vital role on our planet: in fact, according to the USDA Forest Service, pollinators are considered a keystone species in most environments because they are species on which many others depend. Pollinators help carry pollen from the male part of a plant to the female part of another plant, allowing for plants to fruit. Because one third of our food supply relies on pollination, habitat loss and pesticide use are not only issues for pollinators--they are issues for us, too.

While waiting for our exciting June programs, how can you actively help our local pollinators? Because most of the threat to pollinators is caused by habitat loss and pesticide use, it’s important to create space for pollinators to thrive in our gardens and backyards. Avoiding heavy pesticide and herbicide use can help tremendously, since even organic or biodegradable sprays often work indiscriminately on what plants or animals they kill. If you must spray something in your yard or garden, try to spray only as much as you absolutely need to, and use the most pollinator friendly varieties of pesticide/herbicide you can find.

Another way to help pollinators is to plant crops and flowers that are beneficial to bees and other pollinators. Gardener’s Path suggests flowers like borage, butterfly bush, echinacea, lavender, marigold, and other plants to attract a variety of pollinators like bees, hummingbirds, and butterflies. When purchasing seeds, remember to keep an eye out for “bee friendly” labels on your seed packets, and to stay away from “pollen free” varieties if you want to feed the bees. Plus, why not let the dandelions thrive in your yard? Applying herbicides to them not only kills bees and other pollinators; it harms the soil and prevents a perfectly beautiful and edible plant from growing. Dandelion leaves, roots, and flower petals can be enjoyed in a variety of dishes like salads, jellies, teas, and more! Whatever plants you choose, remember to plant a variety of flower colors, shapes, sizes, and bloom times for a diverse, healthy garden that can feed pollinators from early spring to the fall frost. With these planting tips in mind, we can significantly help to reduce pollinator loss in our area--and boast healthier gardens, too, since many pollinators help to keep garden pests in check!

Now that we have a general idea of how we can help our pollinators, here are some of the major pollinator groups and how we can help them best.

BEES AND INSECTS:

When you think of pollinators, a big ol’ bumbling bee is probably the critter that comes to mind. Because bees spend most of their lives collecting pollen, they are particularly effective pollinators. The MSU Department of Entomology describes the work a bee performs when it pollinates a plant: “When a bee lands on a flower, the hairs all over the bees' body attract pollen grains through electrostatic forces. Stiff hairs on their legs enable them to groom the pollen into specialized brushes or pockets on their legs or body, and then carry it back to their nest.” Bees perform this work to obtain pollen, but are also motivated by the sweet nectar offered up by the flowers. Plus, bees are a tremendously important part of gardens and agriculture because they tend to collect pollen from one plant species at a time, which makes it more likely that various crops or flowers will be effectively pollinated by receiving pollen from another flower of its own species. While bees are hugely important in native ecology and in modern agriculture, they're not the only important insect pollinator. In fact, many fly, ant, and wasp species are also pollinators! Encouraging beneficial insects in your garden balances your garden ecosystem, which means that if you have too many tomato hornworms, aphids, cabbage worms, and other insect pests, many pollinators and other insects work to balance these pest populations and keep your garden healthy.

If you’re an avid gardener, one of the easiest ways to help our insect pollinators is to plant flowers and crops that attract beneficial insects and bees. Some of the best flowers for attracting beneficial bugs to your garden include coneflower, yarrow, goldenrod, and others. Flowers that will bring bees in particular to your garden include borage, comfrey, nasturtium, marigold, lupine, lavender, asters like black-eyed Susans, sunflowers, zinnias, and more!

Along with flower selection, creating your own bee habitat helps to support local bee populations. For example, Mason bees tend to nest in hollow stems or other small places, and creating a DIY Mason Bee Home provides a safe habitat for bees. I also love supporting bees in need by giving them a resting place in my garden. Adding stones or marbles to a bowl of shallow water gives bees and other pollinators a place to rest and hydrate, without falling into the water and drowning; plus, you can get creative with this project and make your bee resting place as eye-catching or subtle as you want!

If you’re interested in reading more about the abundant benefits of insects in the garden, check out Attracting Beneficial Bugs to Your Garden by Jessica Walliser--it’s a wonderfully informative and entertaining read that gave me a much better appreciation for the complex ecology of bugs in my garden.

BUTTERFLIES AND MOTHS:

With their delicate wings and beautiful colors and patterns, butterflies and moths bring a wonderful calm into the garden space as they pollinate, and for good reason--these winged friends are an indicator of a healthy ecosystem. Some research suggests that moths are more efficient pollinators than butterflies, working during the night--but it’s also important to remember the incredible diversity of butterflies. According to Michigan Audubon, there are more than 250,000 butterfly species in the world and more than 45 in Michigan alone! There are four main life stages of butterflies, called egg, caterpillar, chrysalis, and adult. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service explains that when an egg hatches, a caterpillar feeds and grows, then sheds its skin and changes into a chrysalis. Inside the chrysalis, the adult butterfly forms. When the butterfly emerges, it searches for nectar-rich flowers to feed on. It’s important to keep these life stages in mind when planting to attract butterflies and moths!

When gardening for butterflies and moths, be sure to include both host plants, for butterflies to lay eggs and build cocoons on, and nectar plants for butterflies to feed on. The host plant that a butterfly might choose depends on the butterfly species, but some popular host plants include milkweed, parsley, dill, fennel, rue, and others. As for nectar plants, butterflies feed on plants like milkweed, lilacs, black-eyed Susans, zinnias, red clovers, and others.

Beyond flowers and herbs, there are other components of habitat to pay special attention to as well when supporting butterfly and moth species in the garden. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service suggests ensuring that your space has bright sunshine and basking stones for butterflies to rest on. They also thrive when there are damp areas, like wet earth or sand, since they cannot drink from open water. They also recommend grouping plants together, because butterflies locate flowers by color and it is easier to find them when they are not isolated. Interestingly, the U.S. Forest Service also explains that “butterflies need resources other than nectar. They are attracted to unsavory foodstuffs, such as moist animal droppings, urine and rotting fruits. Try putting out slices of overripe bananas, oranges and other fruits, or a sponge in a dish of lightly salted water to see which butterflies come to investigate. Sea salt provides a broader range of micronutrients than regular table salt.” Any features you can add to your garden or yard to help your local butterfly and moth species make a huge difference in helping these important pollinators!

HUMMINGBIRDS:

Sometimes when I’m working in the garden, I’m startled by a loud buzz and think there’s a huge wasp coming for me--but when I look up, I’m always delighted to see the only regularly occurring Michigan hummingbird species; the ruby-throated hummingbird!

They’re truly beautiful birds that play an important role in native ecosystems, including our backyards and gardens. Hummingbirds live and breed in North America in the summertime, but migrate south for the winter. Some hummingbirds even migrate from Canada all the way to Costa Rica! They contribute to local food chains by feeding on nectar and insects, and eat quite often. In fact, hummingbirds eat once every 10 to 15 minutes and visit between 1,000 and 2,000 flowers per day in order to sustain their incredibly fast metabolism!

To attract and support hummingbirds in your area, host some flowering plants that hummingbirds feed on, like the tubular flowers of trumpet honeysuckles or flowers like tulip tree, flowering dogwood, sunflowers, milkweed, and more. They also enjoy herbs like lavender, bee balm, and comfrey. It is sometimes said that hummingbirds prefer red flowers, but they will congregate wherever they find an abundance of nectar. Another great way to support them is by offering hummingbird feeders, which are filled with sugar and water. It is very important that the ratio be one part sugar to four parts water (for example, ½ cup sugar to 2 cups water), and that ONLY regular white table sugar is used--other sweeteners like juice, honey, brown sugar, and others can be toxic to hummingbirds! It is also not necessary (and not healthy) to add any food coloring or other dyes to the sugar water. Hummingbirds are grateful for plain ol’ sugar water. If you do set out a feeder, also keep in mind that the feeder needs to be washed with hot soapy water about twice a week, as it can mold in the hot summer months and become toxic. Be sure to read up on hummingbird feeders before setting one out this year! If you aren’t comfortable with this extra work, consider supporting hummingbirds with flowering plants only. Both you and the hummingbirds will be happier in the long run!

There are some great DIY hummingbird feeder projects online, as well as some beautiful varieties of feeders in local shops, in the seasonal/gardening/lawn section. As you work in the garden or enjoy your backyard this summer, listen for that determined little buzz of a hungry hummingbird enjoying your flowers and feeders!

BATS:

Ah, bats. As Hagrid said about spiders in Harry Potter, bats here in the muggle world are “seriously misunderstood creatures." Seen as a spooky omen or a common pest, bats play a vital role in our native ecosystems by consuming their own weight in insects, including mosquitoes and common garden pests, every night! They are also important pollinators and seed dispersers, feeding on occasional nectar and fruit. There are nine bat species in Michigan, and they all primarily feed on insects--keeping bug populations in check.

Many bat species are protected because their populations are in decline, because of habitat loss and aggression from humans due to misconceptions about the danger of bats. Contributing to a bat’s habitat by providing bat houses goes a long way in supporting local bat populations. Bats can use these houses for shelter, protection from predators, and as a safe place to raise their young. Since bats typically only have one pup at a time, bat populations tend to grow very slowly, so providing this shelter to bats is a great way to help them! Bats also enjoy compost or brush piles, and warm, dry nooks and crannies where they can find shelter.

While some may worry about contracting diseases like rabies from bats, this is a very rare occurrence. Bat Conservation offers answers to many common questions regarding bats and rabies, and clarifies that rabies is actually the second rarest disease in America. The most common form of contracting rabies is from cats or dogs who get rabies, so it’s important to have your pets vaccinated. Children should also be taught to never handle wild or unfamiliar animals unless absolutely necessary, like helping a turtle cross the road, even if they look calm or friendly.

While it can be frustrating to find bats in your garage or home, remember that they are nesting in your building because their own habitats are being destroyed. Instead of calling animal control, Bat Conservation offers some helpful steps to bat removal, and also offers some contact information to have the bat removed safely. So next time you happen across a bat, remember that they do not intend to harm or scare you, and that they are hard at work keeping insect populations under control and pollinating flowers!

From bumbling bees and delicate butterflies to buzzing birds and spooky bats, pollinators are a hugely diverse and vital component of native ecology. Thank you for working to support our local pollinator populations--we wouldn’t have ecological structure or local farms without them! There is so much to learn about pollinators, and I highly recommend doing some deep dives into the ecology and life cycles of bees, butterflies, birds, and bats. There’s a nice selection to choose from at Cromaine, especially with regards to attracting and supporting pollinators, like:

• Attracting Native Pollinators: Protecting North America's Bees and Butterflies by Eric Mader
• Native Plant Gardening for Birds, Bees, and Butterflies: Upper Midwest by Jaret C. Daniels
• Gardening for Birds, Butterflies, & Bees: Everything You Need to Know to Create a Wildlife Habitat in Your Backyard
• Gardens For Birds (Hummingbirds and Butterflies): Landscaping to Welcome Wildlife Into Your Yard
• Bats: An Illustrated Guide to All Species by Marianne Taylor

…. and more! However you choose to honor National Pollinator Week this year, I hope you enjoy this beautiful month and the start of summer. Happy pollinator week, friends!

This press release was produced by the Cromaine District Library. The views expressed are the author's own.