Did you know there are around 4,000 species of native bees in North America in addition to honeybees? There are bumblebees, Mason bees, leafcutter bees, squash bees, mining bees…to name a few. Of those, over 600 pollinate the Inland Northwest and often do it better than a honeybee. But bees aren’t the only creatures that provide pollination. Butterflies, wasps, beetles, bats, flies, moths, hummingbirds and even bats and small mammals pollinate flowering and fruiting plants everywhere. The whispering wind is also a pollinator! And, with a little effort, gardeners can hand pollinate their own garden plants.
» The Priority of Pollination
First, let’s define pollination. The transfer of pollen to a stigma, ovule, flower or plant to allow fertilization. A fertilized flower then transforms into a fruit that bears seeds that will grow new plants that flower.
You can identify a pollinating plant by the presence of pollen in conjunction with a flower. Pollinators transfer pollen from flower to flower as well as shake it into the ovule or stigma within the flower. And then, some plants – peanuts, peas, orchids – supplement pollination by self-pollinating. Their flowers fold back on themselves at night, knocking pollen into the heart of the flower.
Over 180,000 varied plant species and around 1,200 food crops require pollination to reproduce. These include berries, vegetables, gourds, melons, coffee, herbs, nuts, chocolate, conifer trees and much more. This means that one out of every three bites of your food is dependent on pollination to show up on your plate. That’s a lot of food! Pollen and plant nectar are also food for bees and beetles, providing nutrient and protein. Look closely at a fluttering bee during the height of summer and you’ll see their back legs encased in bright yellow pollen leg warmers!
» The Bees
With all the information over the past decade about saving the bees most of us are pretty familiar with what a honeybee looks like. But have you ever seen an orange-belted bumblebee? Or followed a mason bee back to its burrowed nest? Or watched a leafcutter bee harvest greenery for its eggs? Some bees are even green or their stripes appear eerily similar to a wasp’s. With 4,000… and one… to observe, it might be difficult to differentiate some bees from flies, pests or other flying insects.
» Bee ID Common Characteristics
• Mostly short, thick bodies covered in hair (some exceptions)
• Six legs and three body parts: head, thorax, abdomen
• Three segments in the thorax, each with three pairs of legs
• Tiny waist and rounded abdomen tip (wasps have a pointed lower abdomen)
• Branched hairs somewhere on their body
• Two pairs of wings
• Only females have stingers
Bees are amazing creatures. Take one of each variety of bee in North America and put them all together and they’ll weigh about one pound. A honeybee hive houses around 50,000 bees on average, and a queen bee can lay 800,000 eggs during her lifespan. Bees are fast, flying up to 15 miles per hour! They communicate through movement, often compared to dancing, and they are industriously neat in their cleaning, constructing and ensuring the future of their species.
Honeybees live within a collective hive with thousands of worker bees supporting one queen, building a wax hexagonal structure, harvesting pollen and nectar, and facilitating the production of honey. Honey is chock full of amino acids, vitamins and minerals and is gentler on blood sugar levels than regular sugar. Beekeepers are common in the U.S. and are often referred to as honey farmers or apiarists. This method of bee management has the possibility of harming wild honeybee populations and encroaching on their pollination territories. But honey is a bankable commodity on the world market. In recent years, more awareness and care has been brought to the industry to build a more sustainable future.
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One way we can promote sustainability and current pollinator health is to encourage and manage native bees. Mason bees are the most known North American native bee and get their name from the “masonry” work they do as they build small tube-shaped holes to lay their eggs and section off with mud. These amazing insects are more effective pollinators than honeybees but are solitary instead of hive dwellers. They also have a shorter lifespan: they emerge early in the spring, and then the female queen works alone for about 10 weeks to build tubes, find a mate, lay her eggs and then die. You can keep mason bees as well! They are gentle and don’t have stingers.
There are so many fascinating bees to discover, but I’m only going to talk about one other one here: the bumblebee. These fat, hairy banded bees are probably my favorite. For a number of years, I’ve witnessed a growing population of orange-belted bumblebees in my garden and seeing their little butts wiggling in the center of a rhododendron bloom just makes me smile. Bumblebees also live only for a season and build colony nests of 70-2,000 bees close to the ground. That little tail wiggle? Well, that’s their vibrating “buzz buzz” that shakes the pollen and makes them incredible and efficient pollinators. Although females have stingers, they are much more laid back than honeybees, so you most likely won’t be stung by one. They are hardy, tenacious and gentle, and they love flowers, all flowers, any flowers.
» Non-Bee Insect Pollinators
Butterflies and moths are the most prolific pollinators after bees. Although there are 20,000 species of butterflies in the world, only 750 pollinate in North America. Some butterflies, like the Idaho Monarch, migrate to warmer climates when it gets cold. Others hibernate in leaves while some die off in the harsh weather. They favor wildflower pollen and taste with all six of their feet. They have a life cycle of caterpillar, cocoon, butterfly, eggs and can reach as high as 11,000 feet into the air. Their wings are made up of a transparent protein layer covered in scales that reflect light in different colors, making them brilliantly diverse and vivid in their plumage. Butterflies can be raised in captivity but releasing them into the wild can cause great harm to wild populations.
While some of the 75,000 wasp species are bee predators and extremely aggressive towards humans, many wasps are still pollinators. Other insects that we consider pests, like flies, midges, mosquitos and beetles also play roles in this important task. So, the next time you go on a mission to kill as many “pests” as possible, remember they have a good side as well in the ecology of our world.
» Other Pollinators
Birds, particularly hummingbirds, are key wildflower pollinators in our world. They transfer pollen on their bills as they flutter from flower to flower feeding on the sweet nectar. In tropical regions, they are important for the propagation of food crops like bananas, papayas and nutmeg.
Bats have a creepy reputation, but when they feed on the nectar night-blooming flowers, they end up transporting pollen on their furry faces and bodies. In one night, they can pollinate 30 flowers and are responsible for a lot of cross-pollination. Their preferred flowers? Agave, cocoa, bananas, mangoes, guavas, eucalyptus – around 528 plant species. Their contribution to the production of food is substantial.
Other small animals, like lemurs, chipmunks, squirrels, mice and lizards, are also important to the pollination cycle. About 85 plant species in the world provide sweet, sweet nectar for rodents, lizards and other small vertebrate pollinators. They carry the pollen on their fur and help create new life as they sustain their own.
» Pollinator Gardening
As a gardener, the pollination and eventual fruiting of your fruits and vegetables is of utmost importance. There are a wealth of plants, designs and structures that you can apply in your garden that will attract a range of pollinators and create a healthy ecological habitat. N
By S. Michal Bennett
Photography By Joel Riner
As Featured In: Home + Garden 2023