EXCHANGE: Southern Indiana learns about plant reproduction

NEW ALBANY, Ind. (AP) - We see them every spring, buzzing around flowers with clumps of pollen stuck to their back legs.

Though they are small, honeybees and other pollinators, or animals that transfer pollen from one flower to another, are a vital part of our food chain.

"One in three bites of our food supply is usually attributed to a pollinator, so without our pollinators, we wouldn't have our fruits and vegetables because they all require pollination," said Gina Anderson, agriculture and natural resource extension educator and community development staffer for the Purdue Extension Office of Floyd County.

However, the number of pollinators are rapidly decreasing, attributed to habitat loss, disease and pests, Anderson said.

To educate the community about the importance of pollinators and how they function within the ecosystem, the extension office hosted Pollinator Day on Saturday at the Purdue Technology Center.

The day featured classes on raising honeybees, planting for pollinators and applying chemicals properly around the home. Family-friendly activities, such as beeswax candle-making and planting seeds in small pots, educated children on the processes and benefits of pollination.

Honey bees aren't the only pollinators - ants, beetles, butterflies and even bats can carry pollen from one flower to the next. A pollinator will pick up pollen, containing the flower's male sex cell, and bring it to female flowers, which become fertilized and create seeds.

"(A pollinator) doesn't necessarily intend to do it, it's just the process of nature creating a cycle of life," Erika Lopp, a Sunnyside Master Gardener, said.

A honeybee, for example, is attracted to bright flowers for their nectar, its food source.

An apple without seeds or a berry flower that never produces fruit are examples of what happens when pollination doesn't occur. It's the only way plants can reproduce.

Despite a declining number of pollinators, Anderson said there are "small steps" people can take to encourage proliferation of honeybees.

People can plant small pollinator garden patches or implement companion planting, which attracts certain insects to eat the insects that otherwise destroy gardens.

"We like to keep our flowers looking great, so we do sometimes have to spray pesticides, so it's the smart use of pesticides or other factors that we can use," Anderson said.

Tony Stewart, a member of Beekeepers of Indiana Inc., has raised bees for about a decade. He has 20 or so hives, each which have up to 60,000 bees.

Stewart brought a small portable hive with him Saturday, showing visitors the large queen bee and explaining the various roles of each bee.

He became interested in raising bees when he found a small swarm in his yard one night when he was mowing. He put the swarm in a box and began researching beekeeping.

"It's just something to do," Stewart said.

His honeybees make about 40 to 60 gallons in a year per hive.

"I have gotten about a hundred gallons from one hive," he said.

Stewart hasn't seen plants on his own property reproduce more than usual, but that's because bees don't concentrate on finding food in one area. They can travel up to 27 square miles from the hive.

Many families came out to Pollinator Day, walking from booth to booth and participating in activities.

Daisy scouts from Girl Scout Troop No. 1621 visited to learn more about pollination, the focus of one of their projects. The troop is planting a pollinator garden at Community Montessori as a long-term way to put all they've learned into action.

"If we're teaching the girls about trying to make a difference, this is one area where I felt like we could show them directly a way they can make a difference," troop leader Valerie Wheat said. "We've talked about the fact that a lot of the food that we eat is the result of pollination, which is what this (event) is showing them, too."

Lanesville resident Jaynie Rockhill brought her three children to the event so they could all learn more about beekeeping.

"We have a small bit of property and are looking to make sure our fruit trees are staying happy and healthy," Rockhill said. "And we wanted to learn more about beekeeping, to keep things natural and organic and stay away from sprays and find better ways of doing our small farming."

So far, the family has read articles about the basic of beekeeping.

"This is our first time to get out and get involved with some people who really know something," Rockhill said.

The Purdue Extension Office of Floyd County is hosting more opportunities for the community to learn about beekeeping and pollinators. The organization is hosting a $5 beginning beekeeping workshop Tuesday, May 10 at the Purdue Technology Building in the Shine Room from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.

Various activities during Pollinator Week, from June 20-26, will be happening throughout the community. Attendants must RSVP by June 16 for the classes.

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Source: News and Tribune, http://bit.ly/1ruusEu

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Information from: News and Tribune, Jeffersonville, Ind., http://www.newsandtribune.com