A primer on pollinators, and why we should protect them
What would shortcake be without strawberries? A BLT without tomatoes? A margarita without tequila? Halloween without pumpkins? This is what our world would be like without pollinators — boring at best, impossible at worst.
Pollinators provide lots of the things we need, and many things we simply enjoy. But pollinators are in trouble, and if they're in trouble, we're in trouble. What gives?
Let's start with a birds-and-the-bees primer. A pollinator is an animal that transfers pollen from one flower to another. Pollen is the essential link between plants. When pollen, produced by male structures in flowers, reaches female flower parts, seeds are produced and — voilà ! More plants.
Pollinators come in all shapes and sizes and live in all kinds of habitats. Most are insects, but mammals and birds do their share of pollinating. (Thank a bat for your margarita.)
What's the first pollinator that comes to mind? Most people say “bee.” And by “bee” they mean anything that's yellow and black and buzzes menacingly. But there are thousands of kinds of bees, and not all of them buzz.
The most recognizable bee — the one you see on clover in your yard and crocus in your garden — is the European honey bee. Although this pollinator is a major player in United States agribusiness, it's not native to North America. The species was brought to Virginia in the 1620s as colonists were settling in the New World. Not long after their introduction, honey bees escaped domestication and spread readily across North America, sometimes in advance of the settlers. It is said that Native Americans dubbed the honey bee the “white man's fly.”
What about the native bees that thrived here before the new kids on the block? According to Beatriz Moisset, biologist and author of “Bee Basics: An Introduction to Our Native Bees,” there are some 4,000 species of bees indigenous to North America. There are 400 to 500 species of native bees in Illinois alone. They range from small to big, and come in all kinds of colors and patterns. As a whole, Moisset wrote, native bees are an “unappreciated treasure (that goes) unnoticed by most of us.”
Like honey bees, native bee species pollinate crop plants. Bumble bees, in fact, are the primary pollinators of multibillion dollar crops like tomatoes, potatoes and eggplant. Bumble bees have been domesticated and are raised in greenhouses specifically for this purpose.
Some plants — notably, the tomato — are fickle when it comes to pollination. Their flowers will only release pollen if they're shaken, and they have to be shaken in just the right way. Bumble bees are the ones to do the job. They're blessed with a special talent called buzz pollination. By producing a special, high frequency vibration of their wings, they can cause pollen to explode from the flower. The bumble bee, thus baptized in pollen, visits another flower and transfers pollen in the process. Fait accompli.
It's not all about crops, though. Native bees pollinate wildflowers such as May-apple, blazing star, cardinal flower, wild columbine, rattlesnake master, and many, many more. For millions of years, these native pollinators and plants have been partners in the intricate dance of coevolution. In a very real sense, they are “made for each other.”
Waning numbers
Today we find that some of the partners have dropped out, and in some places the music has stopped. Native pollinators and plants across the world suffer from habitat loss, intensive agriculture, pesticide use, competition with invasive species, and a warming climate.
A close-to-home example is an unassuming little insect called the rusty-patched bumble bee. This species once occupied a wide range across the upper Midwest to the East Coast. Its range has shrunk drastically with habitat loss and pesticides, and its population has taken a nose dive. According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the number of rusty-patched bumble bees has dropped by 87 percent in just 20 years. It is now listed as a federally endangered species. Restoration ecologists, land managers, and volunteers are scrambling to keep the species from going over the brink. Habitat restoration efforts are underway on the federal, state, and county levels to bolster the existing populations.
The rusty-patched story is played out over and over again with many other pollinator species. The monarch butterfly has been dealt a double whammy, with habitat loss in its wintering grounds in Mexico and habitat decline in North America. The species has also taken a hit with pesticides, in both agricultural and home use. As if this weren't bad enough, there has been a decline in milkweed, the plants the caterpillars rely on. (Monarch caterpillars are extremely picky eaters.) Intensive row-crop agriculture has eliminated fence rows and fields where milkweed used to thrive, and lots of people spray pesticides that are indiscriminate in killing plants. Without milkweeds, the caterpillars cannot survive.
Why we need them
What's the big deal if an insect goes extinct? It's one thing to lose a butterfly like the monarch, which has great charisma and people-appeal. But what if it's an obscure insect you've never heard and likely would never see? Like, say, the rusty-patched bumble bee in Illinois, or the yellow-faced bee in Hawaii, or the Hessel's hairstreak in Maine, to name a few.
If you like to eat, losing pollinators is a big deal. If you take medicine derived from plants, losing pollinators is a big deal. If you're concerned about the economy, losing pollinators is a big deal.
Protecting pollinators just makes sense. Conservationist Aldo Leopold put it this way: “If the land mechanism as a whole is good, then every part is good, whether we understand it or not … To keep every cog and wheel is the first precaution of intelligent tinkering.” The more cogs and wheels, or pollinators and plants, that we lose, the less well the ecosystem works.
• Valerie Blaine is the Nature Programs Manager for the Forest Preserve District of Kane County. You may reach her at blainevalerie@kaneforest.com.
Learn more about pollinators
Learn how you can get involved in pollinator protection. Check out the activities in the Forest Preserve District of Kane County during <a href="http://pollinator.org/pollinator-week">National Pollinator Week</a>, June 18-24.
• Monarchs & Milkweed Festival: Celebrate and learn about native pollinators and plants at a family-friendly festival from noon to 3 p.m. Saturday, June 23, at LeRoy Oakes Forest Preserve, 37W700 Dean St., St. Charles. There will be a milkweed plant giveaway, guided hikes in the prairie, crafts, butterfly house kits, live music and food trucks. Admission is free.
• The Pop-up Naturalist tent: The tent will appear at forest preserves throughout the week. The pop-up features hands-on activities for children, information about pollinator plant gardens, posters, and take-home treats for all. Look for it in a preserve near you. The Forest Preserve District will post the locations of the pop-up daily on its <a href="https://www.facebook.com/forestpreserve/">Facebook page</a>.
• Nature Center exhibit: Stop by Creek Bend Nature Center in LeRoy Oakes Forest Preserve and check out the new pollinator exhibit. This exhibit, along with the all of the displays in the nature center, are interactive, educational and fun for all ages. The nature center is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Thursday and noon to 4 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. Call (630) 444-3190 or visit <a href="http://www.kaneforest.com">www.kaneforest.com</a>.