Many gardeners provide housing for mason bees, a native, solitary, stingless bee that specializes in pollinating fruit trees.
© Photo Jo Ellen Meyers Sharp
This coming week, June 20-26, is National Pollinator Week, an effort by the North American Pollinator Protection Campaign and others to raise awareness of the role of bees, butterflies, birds, wasps, bats and other wildlife critical to the production of our food and flowers.
How to celebrate?
- Eliminate or reduce the use of pesticides. Bug killers are nonselective, which means they kill bees along with Japanese beetles. Fungicides also are deadly to bees, so always read and follow the label directions when using them. Usually the label advises not to apply when bees are present.
- Incorporate native plants in your landscape. Our native pollinators are hard wired to seek out native plants, such as milkweed (Asclepias spp.), ninebark (Physocarpus opulifolius) and white oak (Quercus alba). Select plants that bloom in different seasons, such as columbine (Aquilegia spp.) for spring, coneflowers (Echinacea spp.) for summer, and aromatic aster (Symphyotrichum oblongifolium) for fall.
Zinnias are a favorite plant of butterflies, bees and other pollinators. Photo courtesy National Garden Bureau/ngb.org
When buying plants at the garden center, make sure they have not been treated with a systemic insecticide, such as imidacloprid, which has a long residual effect and contaminates all parts of the plant, including pollen and nectar.
- Some of the best plants for pollinators are herbs, especially mint, dill, parsley and fennel. The last three serve as food plants for swallowtail butterfly caterpillars. Milkweed is a food source for monarch butterfly caterpillars. When we understand that plants are food for desirable wildlife, we get over the notion that our landscapes must be unmarred in any way.
- Provide a water source. Birdbaths for birds. For butterflies, create a shallow mud puddle in a partly sunny area. Place a stone or two there, where butterflies can rest. For bees, put marbles or gravel in a shallow container, such as a plant saucer, and fill with water. The bees slurp up the water while resting on the rocks. Bees frequently drown trying to drink from birdbaths. Butterflies also may visit these shallow containers.
For more information about supporting pollinators, check out these resources:
- The Pollinator Partnership
- The Xerces Society
- Million Pollinator Garden Challenge
- Pollinator Friendly Gardening by Rhonda Fleming Hayes
- The Bee Friendly Garden by Kate Frey and Gretchen LeBuhn