Bees and other pollinators must be helped.
(Mirror Daily, United States) – Einstein said that if we lost our pollinators, we would all starve in just a few years. Bees and other pollinators have a fundamental role in maintaining the balance in our ecosystem.
With the occasion of the National Pollinator Week between June 20th and 26th, people have the opportunity to learn how to attract pollinators in their garden.
Pollination consists of moving the pollen in a flower or from one flower to another, this part being called cross-pollination. Seeds and fruits develop thanks to this process.
Furthermore, the wind or some other animals and insects such as moths, flies, butterflies, birds, beetles, bees and bats contribute as well to the movement of the pollen.
Out of all of these, people are usually more interested in butterflies and bees. Any well-informed gardener knows that most of our food crops depend on cross pollination. In other words, many fruits and vegetables rely on cross-pollination, including nuts, almonds, watermelon, cucumbers, oranges, apple, and blueberries.
Unfortunately, pollinators have suffered a massive decline over the last few years due to a lot of causes, such as pesticides, climate change, human ignorance, and pests. Therefore, they need to be provided with the ideal habitat, without pesticides, and with enough food.
Bees usually go for certain kinds of flowers with specific colors, such as blue, purple, yellow and white. Furthermore, they prefer flower with the broad petal. Plus, in the case of honey bees, the hive need nectar and pollen as well.
Native plants, shrubs and fruit-producing trees are a good source of food. It is also worth mentioning that native bees have various places where they prefer to nest. For example, Florida has some 316 species of native bees.
Around 30 percent of them nest in cavities, whereas the other 70 percent usually dig a tunnel in the ground in well-draining, bare or semi-bare soil. In addition to this, the plants that often attract these insects are wildflowers, herbs, perennials, vines, shrubs, palm, large, medium and small trees.
Regarding other pollinators, butterflies prefer nectar but sometimes they carry pollen with them to other types of plants or flowers, this way doing the cross-pollination. Butterflies go for pink, yellow and red flowers. On the other hand, scientists believe that bees cannot see the red color.
Image Source:Politiken