Scott Hoffman Black is the Executive Director of The Xerces Society opens in a new tab, a nonprofit organization that protects wildlife through the conservation of invertebrates and their habitat. As a researcher, conservationist, and teacher, he has worked for over twenty years advocating science-based conservation.
We’re happy to have The Xerces Society as a partner in our Share the Buzz opens in a new tab campaign and glad that Scott is sharing his knowledge with our shoppers.
When many people think about bees what comes to mind is the honey bee. What many people do not realize is that pollinators come in a vast range of sizes, from large and flamboyant swallowtail butterflies and hummingbirds to tiny bees only a fraction of an inch in length.
They all are an essential part of our environment because they move pollen between flowers and thus ensure the development of seeds and fruits. Although pollinators come in every shape and size, bees are perhaps the ones that make the largest contribution to our daily lives.
Here are just a few facts:
Bee-pollinated crops are worth at least $20 Billion each year in the US, more than $215 billion worldwide.
Pollinators (mostly bees) are needed for more than two-thirds of the world’s crop species.
More than 100 types of crops in the US are pollinated by bees.
We can thank a pollinator for one in every three mouthfuls of food we eat.
Like all wildlife, bees are affected by changes in our landscape that result in the loss of habitat. Pesticides — both insecticides and herbicides — offer another significant threat. Despite these threats, anyone can take action to help these vital insects in four ways: Grow pollinator-friendly flowers, provide nest sites, avoid pesticides and tell people what you are doing and why. With these principles pollinator conservation can be adapted to any location, whether you tend an urban community garden, a suburban yard, work in a city park or manage a farm. Why these four principles?
Flowers provide the nectar and pollen resources that pollinators feed on. Growing pollinator-friendly flowers, shrubs and trees with overlapping bloom times will support pollinators from spring through fall.
A place to lay eggs and for larvae to grow is essential to pollinators. You can install bee-nesting blocks (or simply leave patches of bare ground and brush piles for native bees to occupy) and make homes for caterpillars by growing host plants for butterflies found in your area.
Pesticides are harmful to pollinators. This is especially true of insecticides, but herbicides can reduce food sources for pollinators by removing flowering plants from the landscape.
Talking to your neighbors or friends about the importance of pollinators and their habitat will encourage more people to join in, which will help pollinators even more!
Conservation efforts don’t need to be fancy or expensive. You can enhance gardens with native flowers. By creating drilled wooden blocks or making patches of bare ground in or close to these flower patches you can create nest sites. Even the smallest actions can make a difference. Here are the top ten pollinator plants. Your local Whole Foods Market® opens in a new tab garden center or floral department can help you identify the pollinator-friendly seeds and plants native to your area, and may even have some for you to purchase!
Bee Balm
Milkweed
Lacy Phacelia
Wild Hyssop
Purple Coneflower
California Poppy
Sunflower
Lupine
Goldenrod
Penstemon
For more tips and advice, visit the pollinator conservation pages of The Xerces Society’s web site, www.xerces.org opens in a new tab.
Are you on Pinterest opens in a new tab and want to support bees even further? For each repin of the Share the Buzz video opens in a new tab, Whole Foods Market will donate $1 (up to $5,000) to The Xerces Society.
What are you doing to help protect the pollinators? I'd love to hear about your efforts big and small!
